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By Noah Camras
Contributing Sports Writer
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Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is struggling mightily thus far in the postseason.
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After hitting two home runs in the Wild Card series against the Cincinnati Reds, Ohtani has gone relatively silent over the last two series.
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He went 1-for-18 in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. So far through two games in the NL Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, he's gone just 1-for-7. He has a total of 12 strikeouts and zero extra-base hits across the two series.
While Ohtani is enduring a brutal six-game stretch, he doesn't appear to be showing it. At least not to the general public.
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On Wednesday, as the NLCS traveled back to Los Angeles, manager Dave Roberts was asked if Ohtani had been showing any frustration amid his extended slump. He was honest with his answer.
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"Yeah," Roberts said. "I think that's fair, and I think that's expected. I don't mind it. I like the edge. He's obviously a very, very talented player, and we're counting on him.
"So for him to realize his own personal expectations and if they're not realized then certainly there's frustration, so he's just a great competitor."
He added at the end: "There's still a lot of baseball left."
Roberts went on record before the NLCS saying the Dodgers couldn't win the World Series if Ohtani didn't start hitting. When given a chance to take it back considering LA is 7-1 this postseason, Roberts doubled down.
"Well, I do (think we need Ohtani)," Roberts said, "and I think the contribution is not just by batting average, either. Certainly him being in the lineup, posting, I think getting the walks, allowing for Mookie (Betts) to have opportunities to drive runs in, that's contribution.
"So for me, I think the first two games in Milwaukee his at-bats have been fantastic. That's what I've been looking for. That's what I'm counting on."
Ohtani walked three times in Game 1 and had an RBI single in Game 2. While he's not coming up with a ton of hits yet, that could change quickly — and spell bad news for the Dodgers' opposition the rest of the way.
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