MILWAUKEE -- The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to gauge whether superstar Shohei Ohtani's lingering injuries warrant him sitting out Game 3 of the National League Championship Series but will continue playing him if he deems himself healthy, a source told ESPN.
Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 on Monday that put the Dodgers in a 2-0 hole in the best-of-seven series. Afterward, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic he would have "a conversation" with Ohtani during Tuesday's workout in L.A. to "try to figure out what's best for him."
But a source clarified that the team will only sit Ohtani if he believes he is compromised by the left knee and right bicep injuries that previously hindered him. If he feels good enough to play, the plan is to continue playing him.
Ohtani has not homered since Aug. 18 and has produced just three hits in 20 postseason at-bats. Over the past eight weeks, a stretch in which he went on the injured list in hopes of helping his body recover, he is slashing .156/.283/.200.
"It's hard to see," Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said of Ohtani's struggles. "He's working, and hopefully he gets out of it. We know he's working. Yeah, that's a big one. We need him for sure."
When Betts grounded out for the first out of the fifth inning Monday, he pumped his fist in celebration. To him, it meant something more -- that Tommy Edman would move to third base, allowing him to later score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly, and that perhaps the Dodgers had finally tapped into something against this vaunted Brewers pitching staff.
Betts' zeal, it turns out, was fleeting.
For the second time in as many games in this NLCS, the Dodgers were shut down by a dominant bullpen in the later innings, unable to match a relentless Brewers offense that continuously applied pressure. Rather than set the tone, Betts' groundout represented the first of 15 consecutive outs recorded by Brewers relievers, a sign that the Dodgers' struggles extend well beyond Ohtani.
Thirty-six of the past 38 teams that faced a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series were ultimately eliminated. To Freddie Freeman and so many of his teammates, the reason the Dodgers are in this position is quite simple.
"They got on base and got the hits," Freeman said. "It's hard to win games when you only get three hits."
Once again, none of those hits came with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers went 0-for-4 in that situation in Game 2 and are now 2-for-26 with runners in scoring position in these playoffs, with both of those hits coming off the bat of Andy Pages. Of the 19 runs the Dodgers have scored in their first six games this month, 11 have come courtesy of the home run.
The struggles are collective, but none feel bigger than the ones endured by Ohtani.
The most glaring sign of his struggles occurred in Monday's sixth inning, when he squared to bunt to begin his at-bat. Five JoJo Romero pitches later, he struck out while awkwardly chasing a sweeper well out of the zone.
"It's tough," Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said. "We obviously need his help. He's a big, big part of this team, and it's really important. And just like, you know, I feel bad for him. I know what he's capable of. He's been dealing with some stuff in the past. We don't know if it's still there. But it's Shohei. Any moment, he can come through."
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, arguably the best postseason pitcher going right now, was removed after recording just eight outs and throwing 75 pitches -- 12 of them in one encounter with Jake Bauers, who drew the third-inning bases-loaded walk that set up Christian Yelich's two-run single and forced Roberts to go to his bullpen earlier than he had hoped.
If Will Smith challenges two borderline two-strike pitches to Brice Turang in the first and third innings, both of which ultimately led to runs, maybe Yamamoto's outing looks different. If Roberts brings Roki Sasaki back out for the fifth inning -- rather than turning to lefty Kris Bubic, who proceeded to give up the William Contreras home run that tied the score at 4 -- maybe the Brewers don't gain momentum. And if Brock Stewart doesn't make an errant pickoff throw to first base in the bottom of the sixth, allowing David Hamilton to later score on Contreras' single, maybe everything is different.
But the reality is this: The Dodgers' offense has produced almost nothing late.
In Game 1, they stressed Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski enough to force him out in the fifth inning. In Game 2, they did the same to rookie Logan Henderson, who was removed after his second throwing error. But in both, six relievers -- a group headlined by Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill -- combined to allow just five of 33 batters to reach to reach base.
The last time the Dodgers dropped the first two games in a playoff series, it was 2023. They were swept out of the NL Division Series by a red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks team then. Immediately after that, they signed Ohtani, surrounded him with a host of high-priced stars and won the next two championships.
Now the question is whether Ohtani will be there to help them get out of this hole.
"We're all still behind him," Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. "He knows we're all still behind him. He's gonna get a big hit for us. I know that. I can tell you right now he's gonna get a big hit for us at some point, and that's gonna turn things."