The Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in a 2-0 hole in the National League Championship Series after dropping a 7-4 decision to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
The loss leaves the two-time defending World Series champions facing a steep climb if they hope to become the first team to win three consecutive titles since the New York Yankees of 1998-2000.
Manager Dave Roberts indicated afterward that the club is weighing a significant change involving Shohei Ohtani for Wednesday’s Game 3 at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the cleanup spot during the Game 2 defeat at American Family Field.
That performance dropped his postseason line to 3-for-20, a .150 average, with all three hits being singles and no extra-base hits or RBIs. The two-way star has not homered since Aug. 18, when he took Ryan Feltner deep at Coors Field.
Over his final 18 regular season games after that, he managed just one extra-base hit, a double, and went without a home run for the second time in his major league career, the other stretch coming in September 2022.
In the 24 games dating to Aug. 19, Ohtani has posted a .157/.286/.202 slash line with 14 hits, zero home runs, one RBI, 36 strikeouts and a .488 OPS. Those numbers stand in sharp contrast to his overall 2026 regular-season totals of a .275 average, .377 on-base percentage, .512 slugging percentage, .889 OPS, 30 home runs and 81 RBIs across 139 games.
He also delivered a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts on the mound. Ohtani has dealt with left knee and right bicep issues that limited him down the stretch and prompted a stint on the injured list in September.
A person familiar with the situation said the decision on whether to sit him Wednesday will hinge on whether he feels compromised by those injuries; the plan is to play him if he believes he is healthy enough.
Roberts said after the game that he will speak with Ohtani on Tuesday.
“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,” Roberts said. “I’ll have (that conversation) with him tomorrow.”
If Ohtani is held out, left-handed prospect Josue De Paula, who hit .323 with a 1.081 OPS in 11 September games, has been viewed as a leading option for designated hitter duties.
The Brewers, who won 103 games in the regular season, have received strong bullpen work and timely hits, including three RBIs from catcher William Contreras in Game 2.
Los Angeles will send Blake Snell to the mound in Game 3 as it tries to even the series at home.
The Dodgers went 100-62 during the regular season but have managed just one hit with runners in scoring position across the first two NLCS games.
Milwaukee’s ability to answer every Dodgers lead has kept the series firmly in the Brewers’ control heading into the middle games.
