The Dodgers are drawing attention because they trail the Milwaukee Brewers 0-2 in the National League Championship Series, and because Shohei Ohtani's health has become uncertain ahead of Game 3. Milwaukee won the first two games at home, taking Game 2 by a score of 7-4 on Monday. It is the Dodgers' first 0-2 postseason deficit since they were swept in the 2023 NLDS.
The National League Championship Series is a best-of-seven playoff, so the first team to win four games advances to the World Series. The Dodgers now need to win four of the remaining five games, three of which are scheduled at Dodger Stadium. A loss in Game 3 would leave them one defeat away from elimination.
Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, which is 5 p.m. Pacific Time, per Major League Baseball and ESPN. It will be carried on FS1, FOX Deportes and the streaming service FOX One. Los Angeles will start left-hander Blake Snell, with Tyler Glasnow lined up for Game 4, according to MLB.com and the Los Angeles Times.
Shohei Ohtani is a two-way player for the Dodgers, meaning he both pitches and hits, and he is normally the team's designated hitter when he is not on the mound. The designated hitter is the batting slot used in place of the pitcher's turn at bat. Because he is one of the club's most productive hitters, any change to his availability reshapes the lineup.
Ohtani has been managing right biceps and left knee issues since at least June, according to MLB.com, and he landed on the 15-day injured list in September. The 15-day injured list is a roster designation that temporarily removes a player from the active squad while he recovers. He returned, but the injuries have not fully resolved.
A source told ESPN that the Dodgers would sit Ohtani only if he believed the left knee and right biceps injuries had compromised him. If he feels healthy enough to play, the plan is to keep playing him. Manager Dave Roberts said he would have a conversation with Ohtani during Tuesday's workout to try to figure out what is best for him, according to The Athletic.
In Game 2, Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. For the postseason overall, MLB.com lists him at 3-for-20, a .150 average, with no extra-base hits, seven strikeouts and three walks. That is a small sample of at-bats spread over a handful of games, so it reflects a short stretch rather than a full season of form.
Ohtani has not hit a home run since August 18 at Coors Field, according to ESPN, and has one run batted in since then. His 110 plate appearances without a home run, including the postseason, are a career high; his previous longest such stretch was 104 plate appearances in 2022-23. Over his last 35 games, regular season and postseason combined, he is hitting .197 with a .629 OPS.
A slash line shows three rates in order: batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Batting average measures hits per at-bat, on-base percentage measures how often a batter reaches base by any means, and slugging percentage weights hits by how many bases they produce. OPS simply adds on-base percentage and slugging percentage into one number, so higher is better.
Over the past eight weeks, ESPN reports Ohtani is slashing .156/.283/.200. That window covers roughly two months of games and is longer than a single cold series, which is part of why it has drawn attention. The figures describe results only; they do not explain the cause, which the reporting ties to the ongoing knee and bicep issues.
If Ohtani sits, MLB.com reports that top prospect Josue De Paula would likely start at designated hitter. De Paula is ranked No. 4 overall in MLB Pipeline, the league's ranking of minor league prospects. Starting him would be a significant step for a young player in a playoff game.
MLB.com lists a projected Dodgers lineup of Betts at shortstop, Freeman at first base, T. Hernandez in left field, Ohtani at designated hitter, Smith at catcher, Pages in center field, Tucker in right field, K. Hernandez at third base and Rojas at second base. That projection assumes Ohtani plays; if he does not, the designated hitter slot changes. Blake Snell is listed as the likely starter.
The Dodgers are 2-for-26 this postseason with runners in scoring position, according to ESPN, and both of those hits came from Andy Pages. Runners in scoring position means a runner is on second or third base, where an ordinary single can often drive him home. Failing to convert those chances means the team leaves runs on the bases.
ESPN reports that 11 of the Dodgers' 19 runs this postseason have come via home run. That pattern means a large share of their scoring depends on the long ball rather than on stringing singles and walks together. When home runs are not coming, as during Ohtani's drought, the offense has fewer ways to manufacture runs.
Milwaukee's relievers retired the final 15 Dodgers in Game 2, per ESPN, and the Brewers bullpen has allowed just one run across 28.2 postseason innings. A bullpen is the group of relief pitchers who take over after the starting pitcher leaves. That level of run prevention shortens the game for the opposing offense and puts pressure on every early opportunity.
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto lasted only eight outs in Game 2, throwing 75 pitches, according to ESPN. An out recorded by a pitcher is counted toward his workload, and eight outs means he did not complete three full innings. A short start forces the bullpen into the game early, which matters more in a series with games on consecutive days.
Freddie Freeman is managing a right knee injury, and reliever Blake Treinen is unlikely to pitch this postseason because of right shoulder inflammation, per MLB.com. Both are listed alongside Ohtani's situation in the same reporting. These are ongoing conditions rather than new events in Game 2.
For the NLCS, the Dodgers added left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski as a 13th pitcher on the roster, and Hyeseong Kim was left off, according to MLB.com. Postseason rosters are set for each series, and carrying an extra pitcher gives a manager more arms for a short series. It also reduces the number of position players available off the bench.
Three threads have converged: a 0-2 deficit in a best-of-seven series, an offense converting only 2 of 26 chances with runners in scoring position, and uncertainty over whether the team's most prominent hitter can play. Each thread alone would be notable; together they explain the volume of coverage. The reporting does not state an outcome for the series, and a 0-2 deficit is a position, not a result.
The clearest signal will come from the Dodgers' decision on Ohtani at designated hitter, which MLB.com reports will follow his Tuesday workout and conversation with Dave Roberts. If he plays, the projected lineup stays as listed; if he sits, Josue De Paula is the likely replacement. Blake Snell takes the ball for Los Angeles, and Milwaukee will try to extend its bullpen's run of scoreless innings.
