Despite it seeming that Shohei Ohtani would be the Dodgers’ starting pitcher for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, manager Dave Roberts has other plans.
The two-way star made his only start of the postseason on Oct. 4, giving him plenty of time in between starts to theoretically start Game 1 or Game 2.
Instead, Blake Snell will make his third start of the postseason in Game 1 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will make his third start in Game 2.
Because of the move, Ohtani will not be able to start more than one game this series. However, the two-way player could come out of the bullpen if the Dodgers and Brewers make it to a Game 7. As the bullpen has consistently proved its unreliability this postseason, having an arm like Ohtani’s in the mix could ease some anxieties late in a potential elimination game.
Ohtani put together a strong performance in his only postseason outing as a pitcher so far, giving up three hits, three earned runs and striking out nine batters in the Dodgers’ Game 1 win over the Phillies. However, behind the plate has been a different story for the normally dominant superstar.
In 27 at-bats, Ohtani has just four hits — two of which were home runs — and has been walked three times. Ohtani’s production is miniscule compared to the dominance the likely NL MVP displayed over the entiriety of the regular season.
Ohtani’s struggles at the plate, however, are not the reason why he won’t be on the mound in Game 2.
“No, not at all,” Roberts told reporters on Sunday. “I think it was just kind of Shohei’s going to pitch one game this series. So it’s one game and then you have two other guys that potentially can pitch on regular rest. So how do you get sort of your best pitchers the most innings in a potential seven-game series.
“So I expect a different output from Shohei on the offensive side this series. But, yeah, pushing him back was no bearing on the offensive performance.”
The Dodgers take on the Brewers in Game 1 of the NLCS Monday at 5:08 p.m. in Milwaukee.
