LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani will start Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, with the Dodgers sticking by their injured star despite doing very little at the plate over his last 24 games while dealing with left knee and right biceps injuries. Ohtani has looked lost at times during the postseason, yet Los Angeles is keeping him in the lineup for the key home game.
"He's adamant he feels good enough to be in there. He's close to finding something with his swing. I feel great about it," manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday just before the Dodgers workout at Dodger Stadium. "He was very convicted that he is onto something mechanically. He was adamant that he can help us. He's well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that's all I needed to hear."
Reports after Game 2 in Milwaukee said the Dodgers were considering sitting Ohtani amid his October struggles, which include three singles and three walks in 24 plate appearances. Roberts said Wednesday that if Ohtani sits it would not be a benching, but a reset or recovery day. "It's kind of what we did with Freddie [Freeman] in 2024. He was ailing, wasn't feeling great, give him a couple days potentially to then reset, and he ends up winning the MVP in the World Series," Roberts said. "It's more of, 'Hey man, if you're not feeling good enough that you feel like you can perform up to your ability, then we'll pivot, give you a couple days.'"
Ohtani has been affected this season by left knee irritation that caused him to miss the All-Star Game, and he was shut down from pitching after his July 3 start before attempts to ramp up again were halted. He also dealt with right biceps inflammation that landed him on the injured list in September. "It's everything. It's the upper body, it's the knee, and he's just not perfect. He's not," Roberts said. "But in his words, he's ready to go." Since returning from the injured list, Ohtani has eight hits in 37 at-bats (.216) with one extra-base hit, a double. "The symptoms have subdued a lot, especially when I was on the IL, spending that time just being able to reduce the symptoms," Ohtani said Tuesday, through interpreter Will Ireton. "As of now with the swing, it's a daily process of trying different things, different feel on a daily basis."
Ohtani hit his last home run on August 18, with 110 plate appearances since and just one run batted in. "The symptoms shouldn't be the reason why I can't hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility," Ohtani said, through Ireton. "I take that as an opportunity for me to just take full responsibility for it. Today it's going to be another process for me to tinker and try new things." After batting second in the Dodgers' first two playoff games, he batted fifth in Game 3 of the National League Division Series in Atlanta and has batted fourth in the three games since, with Roberts saying he will likely bat somewhere between second and sixth in Game 3. That prolonged slump has mirrored the Dodgers' postseason offensive struggles entering Game 3. "No one knows what's going to happen tomorrow and the ensuing days," Roberts said. "At the end of the day in this big moment, we're listening to Shohei, and we're going to support the crap out of him and believe in him, and that's it."