The Dodgers return to Los Angeles with their three-peat hopes in serious jeopardy. The Brewers won the second game by a 7-4 margin to retain their home serve, putting them two games away from their first pennant in 44 years. They will have an opportunity to take the lead when the NLCS moves to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
The Dodger offense didn’t get going in October, largely due to the diminished form of their four-time MVP. Shohei Ohtani has only three hits, all singles, in 20 at-bats. He went 0-4 with two strikeouts tonight. Ohtani, who did not pitch in early June due to a left knee injury, has been dealing with a right biceps issue for the past few weeks. The Dodgers placed him on the 15-day injured list in mid-September, and it’s clear Ohtani hasn’t been at full strength for some time.
Skipper Dave Roberts has already dropped Ohtani from the top two spots in the lineup to fourth or fifth in recent games. We’ve now reached the point where they’re not at all committed to having Ohtani in the lineup for their most important game of the year. Roberts tells The Athletic’s Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal that he will have a conversation with Ohtani during tomorrow’s travel day before making the decision to sit him for Game 3.
Ohtani’s power has evaporated over the past two months. He had just one extra base hit, a double, in the final five games of the regular season. It’s been almost two months since his last home run, when he won Ryan Feltner deep at Coors Field on August 18. Ohtani has not hit a home run in his last 18 regular season games, only the second time in his MLB career (September 2022 being the other) that he has gone this long without one.
If the Dodgers remove Ohtani from the lineup, it would most likely mean the first career postseason start for the 21-year-old. Jose De Paula. The Dodgers carried the top bench hitter prospect after recalling him in September. De Paula didn’t shy away from the moment, issuing two walks in three plate appearances in the postseason. He took a crucial base on the balls against Didier Fuentes to help the Dodgers take a commanding lead in Game 4 of their Division Series. De Paula kept Game 1 of the NLCS alive with a walk against Trevor Megill in the ninth inning, but Bets on Mookie flew away to end the match 2-1.
De Paula is technically an outfielder, but the Dodgers clearly don’t want him getting defensive assignments in October. He did well in a two-week audition at DH while Ohtani was on the injured list. De Paula had a 27-homer season with a .303/.401/.547 slash line in Double-A this year and was a captain at the highest level of the minor leagues.
Milwaukee has already tabled left-handed Robert Gasser as Game 3 starter. The Dodgers plan to counter Blake Snell. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy suggested tonight that Dustin Maywho threw an inning of relief behind Logan Henderson tonight, he will likely return to start Game 4 on Thursday.
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