LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani remains mired in a postseason hitting funk, going 0 for 5 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 8-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday night.
The Dodgers lead the best-of-five series, 2-1, despite Ohtani’s lack of offense. He is 1 for 14 with seven strikeouts in the NLDS.
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“I really don’t want to comment on that because, I mean, he can explode at any time,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s that great of a hitter. But we have pitched him well.”
The two-way superstar hasn’t looked like the designated hitter who hit 55 home runs and had 146 runs scored — both franchise records — in the regular season. His homers were second in the National League behind Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber, who had two drives to break out of a slump Wednesday.
Ohtani struck out once, grounded out and flied out three times Wednesday. The Phillies’ left-handers have stymied him in particular.
“His decision making hasn’t been good,” manager Dave Roberts said.
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On the mound, Ohtani pitched six strong innings in the Dodgers’ Game 1 victory on the road. It was the third-most strikeouts by a Dodger in their postseason pitching debut.
Roberts has said Ohtani would start a deciding Game 5 in Philadelphia on Saturday if the series goes the distance.
