Dodgers’ Dave Roberts sends message to Shohei Ohtani before NLCS amid slump

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Shohei Ohtani has not looked like himself this October, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are not asking him to carry the load right away. Ahead of Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, manager Dave Roberts lowered the bar for his superstar.

“For tomorrow it’s just get on base, take good at-bats, and we’ll deal with whatever,” Roberts said. “Honestly, it’s the same message for everyone. Shohei is known for his slug, but when you’re facing Jacob (Misiorowski), it’s just you’ve got to take good at-bats.”

Roberts made it clear that any positive contribution will do.

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“If you run into a homer, great. But if you can earn a walk, fantastic,” Roberts said. “Production is just doing anything positive for the club, and we need all guys to do their part.”

Ohtani went just 2-for-13 with four strikeouts and two walks in the NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. Roberts even dropped him to fifth in the batting order for Game 3 against left-hander Chris Sale, a move he said was specific to that matchup.

“He’s scuffling right now, but I really believe that he’s going to come to life at some point,” Roberts said during that series.

The slump comes after Ohtani missed most of September with various injuries, giving him only five tune-up games in the final week of the regular season before the playoffs began.

The Dodgers survived anyway. They eliminated Atlanta with a 4-1 win in Game 4 on Wednesday, even as Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith combined to go 0-for-15 in the clincher.

Misiorowski has been one of the toughest pitchers the Dodgers have faced, posting a 1.59 ERA with 27 strikeouts and just three walks over 17 innings against them in two regular-season starts and one relief appearance in last year’s NLCS.

Los Angeles will counter with Tarik Skubal on the mound in Milwaukee, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up for Game 2 on Monday.

Roberts’ approach takes some pressure off his star. If Ohtani can simply grind out at-bats against one of the league’s most overpowering arms, the Dodgers will gladly take it as they chase a third straight World Series title.

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