LOS ANGELES -- Even when Shohei Ohtani isn't swinging it well, he tends to make things happen for the Dodgers.
Opposing pitchers have seen it all too many times. He can turn a cold spell into a heater in an instant, which is why the Phillies intentionally walked him in the seventh inning of Thursday's thrilling NL Division Series clincher at Dodger Stadium, loading the bases before Mookie Betts drew a game-tying walk against Jhoan Duran.
Ohtani went just 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts at the plate in the NLDS -- with his lone hit driving in what proved to be the game-winning run in Game 2 -- but arguably his biggest contribution was his start on the mound in Game 1. The two-way superstar was ambushed for three runs in the second inning but dominated the rest of the way, striking out nine in a quality start to earn the win in his postseason pitching debut.
Had the NLDS gone the distance, Ohtani would have started a winner-take-all Game 5. Now that the Dodgers have punched their ticket to the NL Championship Series, they'll have to decide when he'll next take the mound.
The matchup will not be set until Saturday, but whether the Brewers or Cubs advance should have little bearing on how the Dodgers proceed. As is often the case with Ohtani, the challenge is figuring out what best suits his two-way workload, a balance that feels notable after he scuffled at the plate last series.
It seems likely that Ohtani would start Game 2 ahead of a series off-day. That would put Blake Snell in line to start Game 1, making him available to take the ball again in a potential Game 5 on four days' rest. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow would be lined up for Games 3 and 4.
Games 6 and 7, if necessary, would be trickier to map out. Ohtani could start Game 6, but he only pitched on five days' rest twice this season. It's unclear if Yamamoto would be available for Game 7, as he has never pitched on four days' rest in the big leagues.
These are just some of the factors the Dodgers will take into consideration as they set their NLCS rotation. Giving Ohtani an off-day after his next start on the mound could take priority because getting him back on track at the plate will be key to their bid to repeat as World Series champions.
"He's really not giving himself a chance to hit a mistake," manager Dave Roberts said during the NLDS. "I just think that he's in between a little bit, but the swing decisions are just not where they need to be right now. That's kind of what I see, decision making."
The Dodgers have tried to pitch Ohtani before off-days when possible. In the regular season, he went 5-for-34 (.147) in the eight games in which he hit the day after pitching. That schedule worked in the NLDS, which had an off-day between Games 1 and 2.
Ohtani's results at the plate in the NLDS probably had more to do with the fact that the Phillies ran out a talented trio of left-handed starters in Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez. Sánchez set the tone in the very first at-bat of the NLDS. He got Ohtani to swing through three straight pitches, the first of three times the Phillies' ace sent him down on strikes that night.
That has been a trend in the first two rounds of the postseason, as Ohtani has swung at the first pitch in 12 of his 30 plate appearances (40%). He has never been afraid to be aggressive right out of the gate, but even taking into consideration the smaller sample size, his first-pitch swing rate is up quite a bit from the regular season (33.9%).
During the stretch run, Roberts praised Ohtani's growth from last year -- his first pennant race -- to this year. He specifically noted how Ohtani had become better at letting the game come to him, rather than chasing hits even as opposing pitchers were trying to pitch around him.
It takes a full team effort to get to the World Series, let alone win it. Ohtani saw firsthand how his team can get the job done without him being front and center, as was the case during the NLDS.
But in the NLCS and beyond, it would sure help if the Dodgers had the best version of their two-way superstar on both sides of the ball.