The Dodgers head into Game 3 down 2-0 against the Brewers, and the spotlight has landed hard on Shohei Ohtani. He hasn’t looked like himself since the injury, and the first two games of the series only deepened that concern.
After the Game 2 loss, Dave Roberts opened the door to the possibility of Ohtani sitting. “Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good,” Roberts told The Athletic on Monday.
“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.”
That conversation happened, and Roberts said Ohtani pushed to play. “He was adamant that he can help us, well enough to help us win a baseball game. That's all I needed to hear,” Roberts told the media.
The Dodgers are taking that stance into a game that feels like a must-win with the series on the line. There’s risk baked into the call, especially with Ohtani struggling at the plate since returning, but Los Angeles is choosing to keep him in the mix and live with the results.
Not everyone liked the decision. Former Dodgers beat writer Blake Harris took aim at Ohtani for insisting he was ready, calling the superstar selfish.
“So selfish. Well hopefully this at least means they lower him in the order because it would be malpractice to have him anywhere near the top 5 of that starting lineup,” Harris posted.
If Ohtani comes up empty again in Game 3, the criticism is going to get louder, and the decision to keep him active will be second-guessed. But the other side of this is just as real: Ohtani has a track record of delivering in big moments, and if he comes through now, the gamble looks a lot different.
For now, the Dodgers are betting on him to help rescue the series.
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