Shohei Ohtani returned to the leadoff spot for Los Angeles on Thursday night, with the Dodgers facing a must-win Game 4 of the NLCS against the Brewers. Milwaukee sent left-hander Shane Drohan to the mound as Los Angeles again searched for a spark from its four-time MVP.
Ohtani’s recent line
| Span | Games | Batting | Home Runs | RBIs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postseason | 7 | 5-for-28 | 0 | 0 |
| Previous 35 games, regular season and postseason | 35 | .197 average, .629 OPS | 0 | 1 |
The Dodgers have tried several lineup looks in the first three games of the series. Ohtani batted fourth in Games 1 and 2, then hit sixth in Game 3 before managerial plans brought him back to the top Thursday.
He reached once in Game 3, finishing 1-for-2 with a walk, but the longer slump has weighed on a club needing its biggest bat to look like itself. Ohtani has not homered since Aug. 18 at Coors Field, and his current stretch of 110 plate appearances without a homer, postseason included, is the longest drought of his career. His earlier high was 104 plate appearances across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
There is also the physical side of the story. Ohtani has been attempting to play through discomfort in his right biceps and left knee, issues that have persisted since at least June. For more than two months, those lingering ailments have coincided with production well below his usual standard.
Game 4 was scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. PT, with coverage on FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One. For the Dodgers, the assignment was simple: stay alive, and hope the leadoff man could finally turn one of his recent hard days into a defining October night.
