Dodgers' call on Shohei Ohtani’s Game 3 status hinges on health
The Dodgers will gauge whether Shohei Ohtani's lingering injuries warrant him sitting out but will keep playing him if he deems himself healthy, a source said.
Source: ESPN Top · October 13, 2026 at 11:32 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceKUALA LUMPUR, 13 OCTOBER 2026 —
The Los Angeles Dodgers are weighing whether superstar Shohei Ohtani will sit out Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, a source told ESPN.
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The decision will hinge on whether Ohtani feels his left‑knee and right‑bicep injuries are still compromising him, the source said. If he believes he is healthy enough, the team will keep him in the lineup.
Ohtani’s struggles have been stark. In Game 2, a 7‑4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, he went 0‑for‑4 and struck out twice. The defeat left the Dodgers trailing 2‑0 in the best‑of‑seven series.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic that he would have a conversation with Ohtani during Tuesday’s workout in Los Angeles to “try to figure out what’s best for him.” The source clarified that the team would only sit Ohtani if he himself believed his injuries were still a concern.
The player’s offensive output has dipped sharply. He has not homered since August 18 and has produced only three hits in 20 postseason at‑bats. Over the past eight weeks, a period that included a stint on the injured list, 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.”
Betts’ own performance in Game 2 offered a brief moment of optimism. When he grounded out for the first out of the fifth inning, he celebrated with a fist pump. To Betts, the play meant that Tommy Edman would move to third base, allowing Betts to later score the go‑ahead run on a sacrifice fly. It also suggested that the Dodgers might finally have found a way to counter the Brewers’ pitching staff.
The Dodgers’ offense has been stymied by the Brewers’ bullpen in both games. In Game 1, the Dodgers were shut down by a dominant bullpen in the later innings, and in Game 2 they were again unable to match a relentless Brewers offense that continuously applied pressure. The Brewers’ relievers recorded 15 consecutive outs, a sign that the Dodgers’ struggles extend beyond Ohtani.
Thirty‑six of the past 38 teams that faced a 2‑0 deficit in a best‑of‑seven series were ultimately eliminated. Freddie Freeman and many of his teammates point to a simple reason for the Dodgers’ position. “They got on base and got the hits,” Freeman said. “It’s hard to win games when you only get three hits.” None of those hits came with runners in scoring position.
In Game 2, the Dodgers went 0‑for‑4 in that situation and are now 2‑for‑26 with runners in scoring position in these playoffs, with both 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 via home run.
The most glaring sign of Ohtani’s struggles occurred in Monday’s sixth inning. He squared to bunt to begin his at‑bat, and after five JoJo Romero pitches 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 in the league, was removed after recording only eight outs and throwing 75 pitches – 12 of them in one encounter with Jake Bauers, who drew a third‑inning walk to load the bases and set up Christian Yelich’s two‑run single, forcing Roberts to go to his bullpen earlier than he had hoped.
If Will Smith had challenged 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 had brought Roki Sasaki back out for the fifth inning – rather than turning to lefty Kris Bubic, who gave up the William Contreras home run that tied the score at 4 – maybe the Brewers wouldn’t gain momentum.
And if Brock Stewart had not made an errant pickoff throw to first base in the bottom of the sixth, allowing David Hamilton to later score on Contreras’ single, maybe everything would have been different.
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. In both games, six relievers – a group headlined by Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill – combined to allow only five of 33 batters to reach base.
The last time the Dodgers dropped the first two games in a playoff series was 2023, when they were swept out of the NL Division Series by a red‑hot Arizona Diamondbacks team. 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 going to get a big hit for us. I know that. I can tell you right now he’s going to get a big hit for us at some point, and that’s going to turn things.”