Shohei Ohtani breaks with tradition to threaten an NLCS slump against the Brewers

The Los Angeles Dodgers they have a 2-0 lead on the Milwaukee Brewers, yet the Dodgers fan base is very unhappy. Many feel like they haven’t been able to live up to their potential this season, especially with Shohei Ohtanireigning MVP NL, in the midst of a brutal fall.

Ohtani has been, for lack of a better term, the black hole in the Dodgers’ postseason lineup thus far. The Dodgers continue to pitch him, but Ohtani has struggled with just five hits in 34 at-bats. He has at least six walks, but that hardly improved his overall stat line: a slash line of .147/.275/.324, for OPS of .599.

In fact, since the NLDS, the Dodgers’ star has not been very stellar; has gone 2-25 with 12 strikeouts since Game 1 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, with one of those hits coming in their Game 2 win over the Brewers in the NLCS.

Desperate to break out of this slump, Ohtani made a huge change to his routine. As reported by Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Ohtani has made up his mind practice hitting on the field — something he had never done before.

The old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Not hitting the field has worked for the Dodgers star in the past. But now that he’s mired in one of the most brutal slumps of his career, it was definitely time for a change.

The good news is that Game 3 of the NLCS will be at home, so Ohtani should be very comfortable, especially after getting reps to get even more used to the backfield at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers are sitting comfortably despite Shohei Ohtani’s slump

As a testament to the Dodgers’ unprecedented depth, they still sit comfortably with a 2-0 lead over the Brewers in the NLCS even though Ohtani was as close to AVOL as possible as it can get.

Some have questioned whether Ohtani’s playoff starts on the mound are affecting his ability to contribute at the plate. Perhaps Ohtani is simply reaching uncharted territory when it comes to workload, having not been a two-way player this deep into the season in the past.

Regardless, the Dodgers know they can only defend their World Series crown if Ohtani returns to an MVP level, and Ohtani is doing his part to return to that type of production.