ATLANTA -- Hitting lower in the order than he ever had as a Dodger, Shohei Ohtani reached base twice -- albeit without a hit -- in Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over the Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS.
Ohtani reached on a catcher’s interference to load the bases with two outs in the third inning against Braves ace Chris Sale. He worked a seven-pitch walk against left-handed reliever Brent Suter in the eighth.
“I was happy to see him take that walk vs. Suter. He got a catcher's interference tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I still thought his intent, the at-bats were better.”
It was the first time Ohtani started in the five-hole or lower since Sept. 23, 2020, while he was with the Angels. Ohtani had previously only started in the first or second spot for the Dodgers.
When Roberts discussed the lineup change with Ohtani, the superstar made a tongue-in-cheek -- and self-aware -- comment about his performance of late.
"He said, 'I was going to come to you in September and say, why don't you hit me seventh?'" Roberts said. "My point being, he wants to do whatever will help the team. So I feel good about this today. And it's nothing as a sign of what's more to come. It's just for today specifically."
Ohtani entered Tuesday hitting 3-for-15 (.200) with a double, a walk and five strikeouts against Sale.
In his two plate appearances against Sale, aside from the catcher’s interference, Ohtani struck out in the first and flied out on a well-struck 101.3 mph drive in the fifth. The strikeout came with two on and two outs to squander an early opportunity.
“We talked about it like there was going to be some [opportunities] that fall to him,” Roberts said of sliding Ohtani down in the order. “And that's what happened.”
Other notable changes for the Dodgers included starting Miguel Rojas at second base over Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández at third over Max Muncy. L.A. stacked its right-handed hitters higher in an effort to counteract Sale.
Hernández made the decision pay off, hitting a two-run homer off Sale to open the scoring in the fourth. Freddie Freeman added a solo shot two batters later to extend the lead to 3-0.
Even if Ohtani is not quite right -- physically and with his swing -- the Dodgers still expect him to take quality at-bats and not allow the Braves to expand the zone, which he has not done with consistency thus far.
"They're going to expand as much as you're going to let them," Roberts said. "I think, for me, it's just clear that they're trying to stay away until he kind of shows some more restraint. So I think he understands that it's more of once you get in the box and how you're going to be able to control your emotions and check down."
Since returning from the IL, Ohtani has led off vs. right-handers and hit second vs. left-handers. As Roberts said, dropping Ohtani to fifth was more about the approach against Sale than any indication of how future lineups might look.
Roberts said he doesn't see Ohtani hitting fifth in Game 4 vs. Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle, but for Game 3, he felt that moving his superstar down was in the Dodgers' best interest.
"I think it's one of those things that it's not a lack of confidence in any player," Roberts said. "It's more of what I feel gives us the best chance to win today. In a short series, that's the mindset that everyone has to have."
Even with Ohtani still searching -- he's now 2-for-10 (.200) with three strikeouts, one walk and no extra-base hits in the NLDS -- the Dodgers find themselves with a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4.
“It's good to know that we can still win games without him doing a whole bunch,” Roberts said. “But he's going to come to life. It will happen.”