The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the Philadelphia Phillies, two games to one, in the National League Division Series.
However, they’ve won in spite of superstar Shohei Ohtani, who’s struggling at the plate through the series’ first three games.
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Ohtani, who pitched in NLDS Game 1, has had 15 plate appearances through the first three games. He has just one hit and one walk while striking out seven times. He’s hitting .071 with an OPS of .205.
After Wednesday’s game, in which he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout, manager Dave Roberts was asked about his superstar’s struggles.
“I just think that his plate, his decision making hasn’t been good,” Roberts said.
“You can see, it’s balls in/off, and he’s really not giving himself a chance to hit a mistake. I just think that he’s in between a little bit, but the swing decisions are just not where they need to be right now. That’s kind of what I see, decision making.”
The Phillies have thrown three great left-handed pitchers at the Dodgers in Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo and Ranger Suarez. Roberts admitted that he believes that’s “part of it.”
However, while Ohtani’s numbers were considerably worse against left-handers this season, they were still well above average. While Ohtani had a 1.076 OPS against righties, he had a .898 OPS against lefties.
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Ohtani is scheduled to pitch in a potential Game 5, but on Thursday, all his focus will be on getting the Dodgers’ offense jumpstarted in what feels like a must-win game for LA.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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One Response
IMO which carries no weight, with Sanchez dominance over Ohtani and other lefties, they might think of flip – flop the order with 1. Mookie 2. Ohtani 3. Teo. 4. Freeman. 5. Smith. 6. Muncy. 7. Kike. 8. Call. 9.Edman. Shorten the swings and think up the middle from gap to gap like what the Phillies did yesterday to the Dodgers to get back on track. Lefties should be aware of the sweepers and Righties should expect a lot of change-ups, if everything was that easy. It’s gonna be tough tonight with Doran also well rested in the pen.