The Los Angeles Dodgers are finally rolling into Game 1 of the NLDS with their full starting lineup back on the field, a sight they’ve only managed twice all season thanks to a carousel of injured list stints. But don’t let that picture-perfect lineup card fool you, because their biggest star, Shohei Ohtani, is walking into the postseason with a whole lotta question marks hanging over his bat.
Ohtani’s Postseason Plate Problem: Injuries and a Scary Slump
Let’s be real, Ohtani has been battling it out. He’s been dealing with left knee inflammation since way back in June, which totally shut down his pitching after July 3. Then a right biceps injury crept in during the second half, eventually landing him on the injured list in September, his first time there since joining the Dodgers. Now, he’s set to bat second in Game 1, but the big worry is what he’s done, or more accurately, *hasn’t* done, at the plate lately.
Dude hasn’t homered in 46 days! His last blast was on August 18 at Coors Field. Since then, his numbers are straight up ugly: just 11 hits in 74 at-bats for a paltry .157 average, with a .289 OBP and a .214 slugging. He’s walked 11 times, but also struck out 29, and has gone 18 full games without a dinger. Ohtani says the time off helped him, claiming his swing “feels really good overall” and is “in a better place, feels smooth.” He thinks “a little tweaks here and there” and he’ll be ready. Manager Dave Roberts is trying to be optimistic, saying he expects “good things” when the “lights turn on.” But he added, honestly, “We just haven’t seen it enough to really , for me to forecast it. I’m expecting him to play well.” That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?
Freeman’s Fight Back: Finding His Swing After the Knee Scare
It’s not just Ohtani, either. First baseman Freddie Freeman has been struggling down the stretch with a right knee injury of his own. Over the final third of the season, he managed only one home run and five doubles. The good news for Dodgers fans is there’s more confidence that Freeman’s knee issue is behind him. He’s been methodically working on finding his swing, acknowledging that the knee problem might have made him create “bad habits.”
Freeman explained on Tuesday that “there were times over the last couple months where the knee was a problem and I couldn’t get to the front side, so maybe I created bad habits.” He’s owning his struggles, saying “I won’t blame it on that, I just played bad.” But the crucial part? “My knee’s in a good spot now. That’s why I think the bye week is huge, personally for me I get five days to really work on my mechanics of my swing, and my knee’s in a good spot where I feel like I’ll be able to do that.” He even doubled and singled off Tyler Glasnow in a scrimmage on Thursday, and Roberts was stoked about it. “[Thursday] was a big step for Freddie, in my opinion, just seeing the at-bats that he took against our guys and swung the bat really well,” Roberts said. That’s a huge sigh of relief for Dodgers Nation.
Game 1 of the NLDS is set to go down, and while the Dodgers finally have their big names back, the real question is what version of Ohtani and Freeman shows up. Will Ohtani’s “tweaks” magically fix his 46-day power outage, or will Freeman prove his bye-week grind paid off? The postseason is unforgiving, and these two bats are going to need to fire if the Dodgers want to go deep.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
Leave a Reply