NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani was excited when he heard his name called.
“Hit the ball over the fence,” Dodgers backup catcher Austin Barnes said after Ohtani’s three-run moonshot in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Mets in an 8-0 win.
“Not bad advice,” Ohtani said.
Barnes clapped three times. “Like ‘over the fence’ today, man.”
Ohtani beamed as he dressed to leave the ballpark, two wins away from the World Series.
“Good practice,” Ohtani said.
The game is not so easy for Ohtani. But sometimes he hits a ball that has the potential to land in Flushing Bay if Citi Field’s second deck doesn’t get in the way, as he did in the eighth inning Wednesday.
Shohei Ohtani is hitless in 22 at-bats, but has seven hits in nine at-bats with runners on. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The home run brought out a parade of Mets fans, extended Ohtani’s strange postseason streak and eased the nerves of manager Dave Roberts. The Dodgers arrived in Queens this week on a swing, with Ohtani leading the way and protecting the bullpen. No need to use high-relief relievers like Roberts, Evan Phillips and Daniel Hudson. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting in Game 4, the lineup should include Phillips and Hudson plus Blake Treinen and Michael Kopech, who combined for two scoreless innings on Wednesday.
“Those things are important,” Roberts said.
It was Ohtani’s first time in the postseason. He’s competed under a microscope for most of his career, but never before has an American audience read his at-bats in such a small way. He contributed two hits in the Game 1 win and walked twice in the Game 2 loss. Yet he made the game look so simple in the final months of the season — whenever he saw a pitch, he hit it with such force — that every play he made seemed a sign of a long decline.
Roberts has suggested Ohtani swings more often at pitches outside the strike zone. He lost in Game 2 against Mets starter Sean Manania. On Tuesday, before the Dodgers worked out at Citi Field, Ohtani deflected questions about his confidence and attitude. He doesn’t believe the postseason glare will fade. He did not consider himself in the midst of a terrible stretch.
“I feel good at the plate,” Ohtani said through his translator, Will Ireton. “I feel like I’m reminiscing about (feeling good) times and maybe incorporating that into it.”
Part of the concern comes from the odd contrast in his cleavage. Ohtani has not recorded a hit in 22 at-bats, but he has seven hits in nine at-bats with runners on. The difference might be minimal for most sluggers, but Ohtani leaves the Dodgers’ lineup. He used his legs to steal 59 bases during the regular season. He didn’t steal anything in October.
Ohtani insisted Tuesday that this brief lull in his preparation doesn’t change his intentions as a hitter. “However, my plan is to have the same attitude as much as possible, no matter how they attack me, and not focus too much on how they attack me,” he said.
Ohtani made good on that promise in Game 3. On the first pitch he saw, he hit a 95 mph fastball off Mets starter Luis Severino. Two innings later, Severino couldn’t find the zone and Ohtani walked. In the sixth, after Kike Hernandez’s two-run homer, Ohtani drove an 0-2 cutter off Mets reliever Reed Garrett toward his cleats.
All those at-bats were with the bases empty. Ohtani’s fourth no. He followed with Will Smith’s walk and Hernandez’s two-out single. Mets reliever Tyler McGill tried to sneak an 0-1 cutter for an inside strike. Ohtani hit the ball into right field. A collective gasp overcame the 43,883 fans packed into the ballpark. The stats don’t do the homer justice: 115.9 miles off the bat, estimated at 397 feet. The ball connected close enough to the post to merit a replay review.
“I don’t know how you top it,” said third baseman Max Muncie, who reached base in five plate appearances and added a solo shot in the ninth. “The ball was 100 feet over the wrong post. The wrong pole isn’t tall enough for it.
The home run changed Robert’s account of the endgame. He used one of his relief aces, Treinen, to face the bottom of the Mets lineup in the seventh. As the eighth inning began, with the Dodgers up by four, Hudson eased into the bullpen. If the score stays the same, Drienen will move back to eighth. If the Dodgers add a run, Hudson will pitch. Added three runs? That allowed Roberts to send in freshman Ben Kasparius for the final two innings. “The more runs we score, the easier it gets,” Trienen said.
The bullpen figures to be at full strength for Game 4. The Dodgers are trying to lead the series without Mets hitters Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso. So far, Roberts has won. “The more we can cover guys and prevent them from going in, the better,” Hudson said.
Ohtani left the bowling without speaking to the media. He didn’t have to say much. “It’s important for Shohei to build some confidence,” Roberts said. His team is ranked high. His swing silenced a ballpark and saved his bullpen. It also provided a reminder. Despite this relative decline in his offense, Ohtani can still be awe-inspiring. Of course, this is not shocking.
(Top photo by Shohei Ohtani: Elsa/Getty Images)
