Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the NLCS opened that he was confident Shohei Ohtani would snap out of his extended funk.
Two games and two losses against the Milwaukee Brewers later, Roberts and the Dodgers are still waiting.
Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts during Monday's 7-4 loss in Game 2, dropping him to 1-for-7 for the series. He hasn't homered since Aug. 18 - a span of 24 games - and hasn't driven in a run since Sept. 24.
"It's hard to see," Mookie Betts told reporters when asked about Ohtani's struggles. "He's working, and hopefully he gets out of it. We know he's working.
"That's a big one. We need him for sure."
It isn't just the Brewers that are giving Ohtani struggles. The four-time MVP hasn't looked like himself since coming off the IL late in the season due to biceps inflammation and left knee soreness. Ohtani went 5-for-21 with one double over the final five games of the regular season, and is 3-for-24 during the postseason without an extra-base hit or RBI.
Ohtani's postseason performance
| Series | Game | PA | H | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLDS | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| NLCS | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 24 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
The Dodgers survived Ohtani's lack of production during their NLDS win over the Braves, but find themselves in an 0-2 series deficit against the Brewers, due in part to an underachieving offense. Roberts has tried to get Ohtani going by moving him up and down the batting order this October, with little success.
Roberts told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic on Monday that he will have a conversation with the reigning NLCS MVP about potentially sitting him in Game 3.
"Yeah, I mean obviously it hasn't been good," Roberts told Rosenthal. "He doesn't feel great. I think for me, it's having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what's best for him, what's best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it."
