The Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from returning to the World Series after taking a 3-0 series lead over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday evening.
Moreover, it will mean that the Shohei Ohtani era with the Dodgers could result in back-to-back World Series visits. So it’s no coincidence that it will be the veteran two-way player on the mound for Game 4 on Friday to help send Los Angeles to the Fall Classic.
While Ohtani has struggled at the plate this postseason, he did have a solid outing against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the NLDS. The Japanese star struck out nine Phillies batters across six innings.
What Shohei Ohtani Means To The Dodgers
After defeating the Brewers to take a commanding lead in the NLCS, Dodgers’ Mookie Betts spoke with Turner Sports and made an interesting comparison regarding Ohtani.
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“I was talking to my wife a little bit, and it’s like the Bulls playing without Michael Jordan sometimes,” Betts said postgame. “We get him going, and then we’re really going to be hard to beat. Just to get him, you see what happens immediately. As soon as he gets a hit, good things happen. He’s going to be there when the time is right. We all trust and believe in Shohei.”
Dodgers Get Support From Other Areas
Ohtani may be struggling this postseason, but other aspects of this Dodgers team are rising to the occasion. All season, the Dodgers dealt with injuries to their starting rotation, but now that everyone is healthy, they have become the backbone of this playoff run.
In Game 4, Tyler Glasnow only gave up one earned run while striking out eight Brewers in 5.2 innings. His performance comes from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s dominating outings in Games 1 and 2 in Milwaukee. Now, it will be up to Ohtani to carry this momentum and eliminate the Brewers.