The Los Angeles Dodgers are trailing 0-2 in the National League Championship Series, and Shohei Ohtani's struggles have been a major talking point.
Ohtani has not hit a home run since Aug. 18 and has been dealing with multiple injuries. He has not used the injuries as an excuse and thinks he is close to turning things around at the plate, pointing to his mechanics as the real reason for his woes. However, it's hard to deny that he does not look like himself. Still, the Dodgers are keeping him in the lineup, and his teammates know he is giving it his all.
"When you're hurt, you just want to play. So you'll make adjustments to the swing or to your body so you can play," Mookie Betts said before Game 3 of the NLCS, per The Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin. "Then you don't want to hurt while you play, so you make the adjustments to where your body doesn't feel it. Sometimes it's to the detriment of who you are as a player, and you don't really realize it. I couldn't imagine really kind of having the expectations that he has and falling short in a way that it's not normal for him. Then having to come back and be present in this postseason knowing how important he is to the boys. He's trying. It's just really, really hard. It's really hard to make these slight adjustments in this short amount of time. Like I said, it took me almost two years. I feel for him. I know he's grinding, he's working. So we'll just see. We'll see how he comes and prepares. But I know he's giving it his all. We know he's giving it his all. We can at least lay our heads on a pillow at night knowing that we've given it everything."
The Dodgers have Ohtani batting sixth in the lineup in Game 3. It's odd seeing him so low in the lineup, but the Dodgers do not really have any other choice.
Their lineup has not come through with runners in scoring position, and the offense is struggling as a whole. The hotter hitters have to be above Ohtani until he proves he can be a dominant player at the plate again.
The Dodgers need to win Game 3 to avoid being in a really tough spot. Only one team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit. While the Dodgers have the talent to be the second, the odds would be stacked against them.