Los Angeles Dodgers analyst Doug McKain has suggested that the team’s current 3-0 deficit in the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers is largely due to the club allowing an injured Shohei Ohtani to remain in the lineup. McKain, who hosts “Dodgers Dugout Live” for Dodgers Nation and co-hosts “DMAC & Reiter” on 97.1 Fan, argued that the Dodgers are effectively competing without the production of their best player. Ohtani has been hindered by left knee and right biceps issues for months and has not pitched since July 3. As early as September 3, McKain had publicly advocated for the team to shelve Ohtani’s two-way responsibilities to preserve his health. 3, he called for Ohtani’s two-way workload to be shelved. The same theme ran through McKain’s earlier X post.
The Dodgers now face a dire situation in the best-of-seven series, trailing 3-0 after a 6-2 defeat at Dodger Stadium this Wednesday. The Brewers secured the win with back-to-back homers in the seventh inning followed by additional scoring in the eighth and ninth. With the team aiming for a historic three-peat—a feat not accomplished by any franchise since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000—the pressure on the Dodgers is mounting ahead of Game 4, where Tyler Glasnow is set to start. No National League team has ever won three consecutive World Series titles.
Manager Dave Roberts defended his decision to keep Ohtani in the lineup for Game 3, noting that the star was fully on board with a tactical shift. Roberts moved Ohtani down to the sixth spot in the batting order to create an alternating pattern of right-handed and left-handed hitters against Milwaukee’s southpaw, Robert Gasser. While Ohtani reached base three times in Game 3—finishing one-for-two with a walk and a hit-by-pitch—his broader postseason performance remains underwhelming.
Across seven playoff games, Ohtani is batting just.182 with four hits in 22 at-bats and zero home runs. His power drought has persisted for some time, as he has not hit a home run since August 18. The Dodgers will look to keep their season alive in Game 4, scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
