Shohei Ohtani bats sixth, Dodgers lose NLCS Game 3

By Sunday, with the Dodgers down 0-2 to Milwaukee, the talk about Ohtani had moved past slump and into whether something was physically wrong with him.

Foul Territory

@FoulTerritoryTV

"I think something's bothering him physically." @BNightengale wouldn't be surprised if Shohei Ohtani undergoes offseason surgery...

The numbers back up the worry. Going into Game 3, Ohtani was hitting.150 this postseason, 3-for-20 with 7 strikeouts, and all 3 hits were singles. He's playing through a left knee injury and a right biceps issue that put him on the IL from September 9-23, and his final 23 regular-season games weren't much better. For a guy on a 10-year, $700 million deal who usually leads off, that's a five-alarm fire.

Then Sunday night came the report nobody saw coming: the Dodgers were going to sit down and talk about benching him for Game 3. Benching Shohei Ohtani. In October.

Jayson Stark

@jaysonst

How worried are the Dodgers right now? Maybe even time-to-bench-Ohtani worried - as Ken and Katie report here.

Ken Rosenthal

@Ken_Rosenthal

As Shohei Ohtani struggles, Dodgers will discuss benching superstar in Game 3. With @katiejwoo, unlocked and free to read. t.co/W6h4EQ5yqI

Monday was all bench talk, and all day the shows asked whether the Dodgers would really sit the face of baseball. By Monday evening they had their answer: no. Dave Roberts said Ohtani was adamant he was close to fixing something mechanical, and the team decided to believe him.

Foul Territory

@FoulTerritoryTV

Dave Roberts said Shohei Ohtani was "adamant" that he felt good enough to stay in the lineup and that he's "close to finding something with his swing." Roberts later added: "We're listening to Shohei. We're going to support the crap out of him. He can throw out four hits or no hits. It doesn't change our process and how we're believing in him."

Ohtani spoke for himself too, and he didn't blame the injuries. He said the symptoms have eased and that they shouldn't be the reason he can't hit. That's a star taking the heat, but it also sounds like a guy who knows he's not right.

Jon Morosi

@jonmorosi

Shohei Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton that his injury-related symptoms have “subdued” recently. Of his performance, Ohtani said, “I take full responsibility . . . The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason I can’t hit.” @MLBNetwork

Staying in the lineup didn't mean staying at the top of it. On Tuesday afternoon the Game 3 card came out against lefty Robert Gasser. Ohtani was at DH and batting sixth, Will Smith was down to seventh, Kyle Tucker moved up to cleanup and Miguel Rojas started at third.

It was the lowest Ohtani has hit since joining the Dodgers, and the first time he'd started sixth or lower since his Angels days. The Dodgers said they didn't expect Gasser to face the lineup a 3rd time, and that factored into the shuffle.

Then the game itself went sideways for LA. Jackson Chourio homered on the first pitch, and Gasser gave the Brewers 5 scoreless innings. Blake Snell was fantastic on the other side, but the Dodgers kept stranding runners. Ohtani did hit one ball very hard, a single that came off the bat at 113.5 mph.

Talkin' Baseball

@TalkinBaseball_

Shohei Ohtani hit this single 113.5 MPH Yandy Diaz's 114.6 MPH double in ALCS Game 1 is the only hit with a higher exit velocity this postseason

The big moment came in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded and 1 out, Smith doubled off Abner Uribe to put LA up 2-1. That was as good as it got. DL Hall came in and struck out the next 2 hitters to strand the rest, and in the 7th Roberts stuck with Snell. Jake Bauers hit a go-ahead 2-run homer after an 11-pitch at-bat and Garrett Mitchell went back-to-back. Milwaukee won 6-2.

By Wednesday morning the autopsies were in. Jayson Stark went through Ohtani's postseason numbers to put the slump in perspective, and his one-word summary was 'yikes.'

Jayson Stark

@jaysonst

New from me: The Dodgers still play "Feeling Good" when Shohei Ohtani hits. But guess what? He's not actually feeling so good! So I dug into his numbers to put them in perspective. And ... yikes! Plus more Weird & Wildness Unlocked, free to read t.co/VPMAf2N7GR

The bigger problem goes beyond Ohtani. Katie Woo's read on that sixth inning is that Roberts' aggressive moves showed how little he trusts this offense right now. It's hard to argue when a team keeps going quiet with runners in scoring position.

So here's where it stands. The Dodgers have won the last 2 titles, they're down 3-0, and Game 4 is Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. Their $700 million superstar says he's close to finding his swing. If he doesn't find it in the next 24 hours, the next thing Ohtani deals with is an offseason that might include surgery.