Brewers still wary of Shohei Ohtani heroics for…
Brewers supervisor Pat Murphy didn’t take the Shohei Ohtani-speculation bait.
But, when requested about Ohtani’s unsure standing popping out of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series this week, outfielder Garrett Mitchell did.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani walks toward the dugout during a workout forward of Game 3 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
“I’d be shocked,” Mitchell said on Tuesday, when requested about the likelihood of Ohtani not being in the Dodgers’ lineup for a essential Game 3 on Wednesday. “He’s the best participant in the sport, arguably going down as the best participant ever. This recreation could be very laborious. One day you will be on top of the world, and on the next you’re hitting the bottom of lows … But I do know that whether or not he’s feeling good or he’s not feeling good, he’s always going to be somebody that you might have to game-plan for.
“You never know,” Mitchell added. “It takes one swing to come back.”
As it turned out, Ohtani was granted the possibility for a big swing on Wednesday.
Despite his woeful efficiency so far this postseason, and his ongoing struggles with proper arm and left knee accidents, Ohtani was stored in the Dodgers’ lineup for Game 3 of the NLCS.
He was, as supervisor Dave Roberts relayed while asserting the choice on Tuesday, “convicted” and “adamant” in his skill to discover one thing at the plate, and look more just like the four-time MVP that has spearheaded the Dodgers’ offense during their run to back-to-back World Series titles the last two years.
“‘I want to be in there. I know I can help the team. I’m close,’” Ohtani told Roberts and top front-office executives Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes during a assembly on Tuesday, as Roberts later recounted.
“That,” Roberts added, “is all I need to hear.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani speaks during a news convention forward of Game 3 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Ohtani’s possibilities of following through on such optimism, of course, still appeared doubtful.
He entered Wednesday batting just 3-for-20 with no extra-base hits or RBIs this postseason. He hadn’t launched a home run since Aug. 18, mired in the longest single-season long-ball drought of his MLB profession. He was coming off a significantly poor efficiency in Game 2, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a number of awkward swings in a 7-4 loss that put the Dodgers in a 2-0 sequence gap.
Still, the Brewers remained wary of the 32-year-old’s capabilities.
They couldn’t help but keep in mind last yr’s NLCS, when Ohtani entered Game 4 in a 3-for-29 stoop — then delivered maybe the best particular person efficiency in baseball historical past, hitting three home runs and placing out 10 batters to full a pennant-clinching sweep.
“There’s proof of that even last year,” Mitchell famous. “Probably didn’t have the greatest series to start, but that Game 4, it just takes one day.”
“You can’t forget that,” Murphy added. “Do you know how tough it is to execute what he did?”
Milwaukee Brewers supervisor Pat Murphy walks across the sector after making a pitching change in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 2 of the National League Championship Series at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. Getty Images
This model of Ohtani, of course, seems to be nothing like last yr’s.
He isn’t pitching. He isn’t slugging. Outside of a few slap singles and a couple walks, he has hardly even posed a risk to attain base.
Has that modified the way in which the Brewers have attacked him in this NLCS rematch, Murphy was requested:
“You still have to go at him,” he said, coyly. “You have to go at everybody.”
As for whether or not Murphy would have been stunned to see Ohtani benched for Game 3?
“That’s out of my hands,” he said. “But surprise? Nothing in this game surprises me, to tell you the truth. Right when you think you know something, be careful; you might not.”
With their season hanging in the steadiness, the Dodgers are hoping that will show true with their slumping celebrity slugger.
Stay up to date with the latest trending topics! Visit our web site daily for the freshest Sports news and content, rigorously curated to keep you informed.
