NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani perked up when he heard his name.
“I told him,” Dodgers backup catcher Austin Barnes said after Ohtani’s three-run run scored in an 8-0 victory over the Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, “hit the ball over. fence.
“Good advice,” Otani said.
Barnes clapped his hands three times. “It’s like, ‘Today, man, get over the fence.'”
Ohtani was all smiles as he left the field dressed up, two wins away from the World Series.
“Very good coach,” Ohtani said.
This game will not be easy for Ohtani. But sometimes he can make it look that way, as he did in the eighth inning Wednesday, when his hit ball looked like it could land in Flushing Bay if Citi Field’s second deck wasn’t in the way.
Ohtani allowed no hits in 22 at-bats with no bases loaded, but had seven hits in nine at-bats with runners on. (Sarah Steele/Getty Images)
The home run drew Mets fans to the exits, prolonged Ohtani’s bizarre postseason run and eased manager Dave Roberts’ nerves. The Dodgers arrive in Queens this week looking to make it three games in a row after their starting pitchers have been unable to consistently get deep into games. Ohtani extended the lead and protected the bullpen with a swing. Roberts doesn’t have to use high-leverage relievers Evan Phillips and Daniel Hudson. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting Game 4, the team should have Phillips and Hudson as well as Blake Treinen and Michael Kopech, who were scoreless in two innings on Wednesday.
“These things are important,” Roberts said.
This is Ohtani’s first time in the playoffs. His game has been under a microscope for much of his career, but American audiences have never studied his hitting in such detail before. He added two hits in the Game 1 win and drove in two hits in the Game 2 loss. In the final months of the season, however, he made the game look so easy—hitting it with tremendous power every time he saw a ball—that every shot he took seemed like a long slump. omen.
Roberts said Ohtani was swinging too often on pitches outside the strike zone. In Game 2, he looked disoriented against Mets starter Sean Mananea. problem. He doesn’t believe he will languish under the gaze of the playoffs. He didn’t think he was in dire straits.
“I definitely felt good at the plate,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Will Ireton. “I do feel like I (can) recall times when I (felt) good and maybe incorporate that into it.”
Part of the concern stems from strange differences in his splits. Ohtani gave up no hits in 22 at-bats with no bases loaded, but had seven hits in nine at-bats with runners on. For most sluggers, that difference may not matter that much, but Ohtani leads the Dodgers lineup. He stole 59 bases with his legs during the regular season. He didn’t steal anything in October.
Ohtani insisted on Tuesday that his short break will not change his intentions as a batsman. “No matter what they pitch me, my plan is to keep the approach the same as possible and not focus too much on how they attack me,” he said.
Ohtani delivered on that promise in Game 3. A fastball that hits 95 mph. Two innings later, Ohtani drew a walk as Severino couldn’t find the zone. After Kik Hernandez hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Big Valley slammed Mets reliever Reid Garrett’s 0-2 chip ball toward his shoe. hit.
All of these hits occurred with the bases empty. Ohtani’s fourth didn’t. He followed Will Smith’s lead and a two-out single from Hernandez. Mets reliever Tylor Megill tried to sneak inside to make the score 0-1. Ohtani hit the ball to right field. The 43,883 fans in the stadium collectively gasped. The statistics don’t do the home run justice: batted ball speed of 115.9 mph and estimated distance of 397 feet. The ball hooked near the pole, close enough to warrant a replay review.
“I don’t know how you overturn that,” said third baseman Max Muncy, who allowed five home runs and added a solo shot in the ninth. “The ball is 100 feet from the foul pole. The foul pole isn’t high enough for that.
The home run changed Robert’s endgame calculus. He used one of his backup aces, Trenin, in Game 7 to face the bottom of the Mets lineup. With the Dodgers leading by four runs at the start of the eighth inning, Hudson relaxed in the bullpen. If the score remains the same, Treinen will return to eighth place. If the Dodgers added one run, Hudson would pitch. Three more rounds? That allowed Roberts to send out rookie Ben Kasparis for the final two innings. “The more we score, the easier it gets,” Treinen said.
The bullpen is expected to be close to full strength in Game 4. Pete Alonso is no longer going to get through this series without receiving repeated attention from the same reliever. So far, Roberts has succeeded. “The more we can hide people and prevent them from getting in, that might be ideal,” Hudson said.
Ohtani left the court without speaking to reporters. He didn’t need to say much. “It was important for Shohei to build some confidence,” said Roberts, whose team took the high ground. His swing silenced the pitch and saved his bullpen. It also provides a reminder. Even when his batting was relatively subdued, Ohtani still inspired awe. Of course, this isn’t shocking.
(Above photo of Shohei Ohtani: Elsa/Getty Images)
