Dodgers Skipper's Shohei Ohtani Musings Should Be Warning Sign For Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers trail the Los Angeles Dodgers two games to none, and the scariest part may be that LA's best player hasn't gotten going yet.

Shohei Ohtani managed a late RBI single in the Dodgers' 5-1 win in Game 2, but he's 1-for-7 in the series and 2 for his last 25 overall. For a guy likely to win his fourth Most Valuable Player in a few weeks, that constitutes a slump, and an ill-timed one at that.

Any chance the Brewers have at overcoming this deficit and winning four of the next five games likely starts with keeping Ohtani's offensive production bottled up. Unfortunately, the Dodgers' manager seems fairly confident that won't happen.

Dave Roberts on Ohtani's at-bats

Oct 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) flies out to left field against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning during game one of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, Dave Roberts said he was happy with the at-bat quality Ohtani had been displaying lately, and all but warned the Brewers that the breakout was coming soon enough.

"Certainly, by him being in the lineup, posting, getting walks, allowing Mookie to have opportunities to drive runners in, that's contribution," Roberts said, per MLB.com video. "For me, I think the first two games in Milwaukee, his at-bats have been fantastic.

"That's what I've been looking for, and that's what I'm counting on."

All Brewers pitchers need to be careful when facing a slugger who hit 55 home runs this season, but if anyone needs to exercise extra caution, it's lefty Jose Quintana, who will probably face Ohtani at some point on Thursday night.

In his career against Quintana, Ohtani is 2-for-6... but both hits were home runs, including a blast on July 20 of this year at Dodger Stadium that left the bat at just under 109 mph.

Plus, of course, the Brewers also have to face Ohtani as a pitcher in Game 4 of the series, possibly with their season on the line. No matter how he happens to be hitting, the 31-year-old has some of the most electric stuff Milwaukee will see all year.

All the Brewers can do is keep making their best pitches when Ohtani comes to the plate and praying he doesn't get to them. But the best players in the world are bound to break out of slumps eventually, so there's no way to guarantee Ohtani won't burn them.

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