The Los Angeles Dodgers are gearing up for their most important game of the season on Wednesday night, as they will take on the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of their NLCS battle. After dropping Games 1 and 2, it feels like the Dodgers need to win Game 3 if they want any shot at finding their way back to the World Series.
The issue for L.A. is that, despite its array of talent, it is operating at far less than 100% health currently. Perhaps the most consequential injury of the bunch belongs to Shohei Ohtani, who has been ice cold in the postseason thanks to lingering left knee and right biceps injuries. For Game 3, Dave Roberts dropped Ohtani down to the No. 6 spot in the lineup, with the veteran manager sending a strong message on the two-way phenom after his bold decision came to light.
Dave Roberts Gets Brutally Honest on Shohei Ohtani
Throughout his historic MLB career, the only thing that has managed to slow down Ohtani is injuries. That was never more true than in the 2026 campaign, as Ohtani had what was shaping up to be a fantastic season on the mound get derailed by his aforementioned injury. At the plate, Ohtani still managed to appear in 135 games, but he looked mortal for the first time since signing with the Dodgers.
Things have only gotten worse for Ohtani since the start of the playoffs, as he is hitting just .150 through the team’s first six games. Again, there is a ton of talent in Los Angeles’ lineup, but Ohtani is the engine that makes the operation so effective. Without him, the Dodgers have struggled to consistently find a way to score runs.
Reports indicated that Los Angeles was considering benching Ohtani amid his ongoing struggles, but instead, he is simply being dropped a couple more spots down the batting order. Roberts made it clear he consulted with Ohtani on this decision, saying that the Japanese superstar is all in favor of doing whatever is needed to help his team win games.
“Shohei is all aboard. Whatever it takes to win,” Roberts said when asked about the decision to drop Ohtani down to the No. 6 spot in the lineup for Game 3.
Dodgers Hoping Shohei Ohtani Can Break Out of His Slump in Game 3
Ohtani has been banged up all year long, but he still managed to turn in a strong season at the plate, despite dealing with these injuries for months (.275 BA, 30 HR, 81 RBI, 11 SB, .889 OPS). If there’s anyone who can turn a series around on his own, it’s Ohtani, which is why his inclusion in the lineup isn’t all that surprising.
Roberts is running out of time to plug all the holes that are springing up for the Dodgers, though, and if this move down the order doesn’t get Ohtani going, Los Angeles could be in serious trouble. First pitch for Game 3 is set for 8 p.m. ET, with Blake Snell taking the mound against Robert Gasser.
Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Sends Strong Shohei Ohtani Message After Lineup Decision