The Los Angeles Dodgers have some concerns as they vie for the elusive threepeat. Their loss in Game 2 of the NLDS to the Braves means the series is now tied 1-1, which in turn means the series is now in essence a best-of-three with the Braves having home field advantage. A very much related concern is the current status of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani hasn't pitched since July 3, when he was pulled from his start against the Padres because of left knee discomfort and soreness in his right biceps. Those injuries kept him out of the All-Star Game and, presumably, won't allow him to pitch in the postseason. The Dodgers have the rotation depth and frontline excellence to withstand the loss of Ohtani the pitcher, but what about Ohtani the hitter?
His presence is invaluable in an L.A. lineup that's aging in some spots. Ohtani's knee inflammation landed him on the injured list in September, but he returned in time to play the final five games of the regular season. He went 5 for 21 in those games with only one extra-base hit, a double, and eight strikeouts against one walk.
Taking the longer view, Ohtani in all of September batted just .200/.333/.233, and overall his OPS at the plate dropped from .953 in the first half of 2026 to .772 in the second half. He also saw a decline in underlying batted-ball authority from the first half to the second. He hasn't homered since Aug. 18 in Coors Field.
Counting the current Braves series, that's a stretch of 20 games and 80 at-bats without a home run for Ohtani. Speaking of the postseason, through the first two games of the Braves series, Ohtani is 2 for 8 with no extra-base hits or walks and a pair of strikeouts. Normally, such a minuscule sample wouldn't register, but against the much larger backdrop of Ohtani's poor production and the parallel matter of his ongoing case of knee inflammation, it's all a major concern for the Dodgers.
"I think with Shohei, it's just -- I think, if you look at the at-bats, there's a lot of chase," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Sunday's 3-2 loss to Atlanta. "I think that it's like -- it's hard to square up, put good swings on balls that are out of the zone. That's kind of what it boils down to.
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