Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday that Shohei Ohtani will be in the lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday.
With his team trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0, Roberts said he had a “great conversation” with Ohtani, and that Ohtani is “excited, and he’ll be in there tomorrow.”
On Monday, Los Angeles lost Game 2 7-4 in Milwaukee, and Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. After the loss, a source told ESPN that the Dodgers would gauge whether the superstar slugger’s lingering injuries warrant him sitting out Game 3, but he was to continue playing if healthy.
Ohtani, a two-time NL MVP, has not homered since Aug. 18 and has produced only three hits in 20 postseason at-bats. Over the past eight weeks, a stretch in which he went on the injured list in hopes of helping his body recover, he is slashing .156/.283/.200.
“It’s hard to see,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said of Ohtani’s struggles Monday. “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.”
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy concurred after the loss.
“He knows we’re all still behind him. He’s going to get a big hit for us,” he said. “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.”
Source: www.espn.com
