Shohei Ohtani made his first career postseason start as a pitcher in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, and while he threw six quality innings on the mound, the two-way star did not have similar success at the plate.
Ohtani went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a walk in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-3 comeback win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
He especially struggled against Cristopher Sánchez and struck out in all three of his at-bats. Ohtani later went down looking against Matt Strahm before drawing a walk in the ninth inning.
“I just thought that Sánchez was really good with the sinker, with the changeup,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s struggles in Game 1. “Then he faced Strahm, who made some good pitches on him, and got the walk.
“But I just thought that he was chasing out of the zone, and then when he was taking, he was taking strikes. It was kind of a bad combination, just a bad night. Expect him to be better in Game 2.”
Sánchez is one of the toughest left-handed pitchers in all of baseball, but Roberts believes Ohtani’s offensive struggles in Game 1 were related to the fact that he also had to pitch.
“I think Sánchez was really good,” Roberts began. “But I do think that on days that Shohei pitches, a large amount of the focus is on the pitching, which I understand.
“But I think that last night, in particular — I know Sánchez was good — but yeah, I mean kind of trying to weather that three-run inning and kind of stay in there on the pitching side, I’m sure has some kind of bleed in to the effect on the bat.
“But Sánchez was really good, though, regardless.”
There have been times this season when Ohtani struggled at the plate in games that he also pitched, along with the ensuing contest. That was more of a factor early on in his return to the mound, and the Dodgers responded by giving Ohtani more time off in between outings and also trying to line up his pitching starts before an off day in their schedule.
Will Shohei Ohtani struggle in Game 2?
With the Phillies starting another left-hander — Jesús Luzardo — in Game 2, Roberts is not concerned that Ohtani will have a second consecutive down performance at the plate.
Ohtani hit .279/.344/.554 with eight doubles, four triples, 15 home runs and 33 RBI against southpaws during the regular season.
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