Shohei Ohtani’s first career postseason start was a big success. We now know when he could have his encore.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Monday that Ohtani would start Game 5 of their NLDS against the Phillies on Saturday, if necessary.
“If [the series] goes the distance, he would be [the starting pitcher], yes,” Roberts said of Ohtani.
Of course, that game may not be necessary if the Dodgers can take care of business over the next few days, much like they did in Saturday’s Game 1 behind Ohtani’s six strong innings.
He allowed three runs in the second inning but then gave up only one hit over the next four frames and struck out nine on the night. That was the third-most strikeouts by a Dodger in their first career postseason outing, behind only Don Newcombe (11 in 1949 World Series Game 1) and Tim Belcher (10 in 1988 NLCS Game 2).
Ohtani’s ability to hold down the Phillies after the second allowed his offense to claw back into the game. The Dodgers scored two runs in the sixth before Teoscar Hernández swatted a game-changing three-run homer in the seventh en route to a 5-3 series-opening road win for the reigning World Series champions.
Roberts also added that having Ohtani pitch out of the bullpen vs. the Phillies in the series was "not on our radar."