Los Angeles – Shohei Ohtani flew through puddles of Budweiser and clouds of cigar smoke polluting the city's Dodger clubhouse. He smiled as he emerged, soaked but delighted, from the bacchanalia where the team was celebrating their victory over Parents in the National League Division Series. As he left the room, Ohtani passed the man who signed him to a $700 million contract last winter, especially for events like this.
“You know,” owner Mark Walter said to vice president of baseball development Raúl Ibañez, “this is Shohei's first playoff victory.”
Ohtani never appears after that, but the fifth game was a rare occasion where he wasn't the main character. Yoshinobu Yamamoto silenced San Diego for five rounds. Kike Hernandez AND Teoscar Hernandez provided the biggest swings. Ohtani never made it to the base. It was a quiet end to a postseason that started with a bang for Ohtani.
The Dodgers may not have advanced to face the Mets in the National League Championship Series without Ohtani's three-run shot against San Diego in the first game. Homer revitalized the club after Yamamoto spotted San Diego taking an early lead. For the next four games, San Diego kept him from smashing balls over the fence and causing havoc on the bases. After the first game, Ohtani went 2-of-15 with eight hits.
Shohei Ohtani struggled after the first game when he homered. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn images)
Ohtani's relative run didn't sink the club. Betting Mookie came alive with goals in the third and fourth games. Teoscar Hernández had a 1.067 OPS. Kiké Hernandez solidified his reputation as October's favorite. The result was enough to defeat San Diego.
“Twenty-six players will win it,” Betts said. “Not just Ohtani. Not just Mookie. Not just Yamamoto. It will take all of us. We showed that we have a good team.”
However, their biggest star will always be Ohtani. The Dodgers survived a five-game brawl with San Diego, but they didn't emerge unscathed. Freddie Freeman is still struggling with a sprained ankle. Miguel Rojas is limited by a groin injury. The group would benefit from Ohtani repeating his performance from the final two weeks of the season, when he hit .547 with seven home runs and 11 stolen bases.
Ohtani stole 59 bags in the regular season and none in the NLDS, in part because the Padres kept him off the bases. Manager Dave Roberts admitted that against San Diego, Ohtani chased the pitch “more outside the strike zone than he has in the last, let's call it, six to eight weeks.” Roberts suggested that the trend might not continue against the Mets, largely because the Mets are not employing pitchers like Padres right-handed starter Yu Darvish and left-handed reliever Tanner Scott.
Darvish retired Ohtani six times in six appearances split between Game 2 and Game 5. The Padres neutralized Ohtani late in the games against Scott. Ohtani faced Scott four times. He hit it every time. The pitchers presented a plan to deal with Ohtani. The challenge for the Mets will be figuring out if either pitcher will be able to follow that up.
Darvish stunned Ohtani. Scott overwhelmed him. For the Mets, only one path seems likely in this series.
Part of the problem is staffing. The Mets had only two left-handed relievers in the NLDS against Philadelphia. David Peterson is a converted starter who can handle extended assignments; Kodai Senga will likely follow suit in Game 1. Second lefty Danny Youngan appeared in the game against the Phillies. His fastball tops out at around 90 mph – a far cry from Scott's high-octane arsenal.
Opposing evaluators believe pitchers can disarm Ohtani by firing fastballs up and inside. It is believed that this hole has not yet been closed. However, getting to this place can be dangerous. Missed shots could pass through the plate to a place where Ohtani could send them into orbit. Facing Ohtani, Scott didn't miss. He pumped fastballs into the at-bats and eventually lured him out of the strike zone with heat reaching into the 90s.
The Mets don't use a reliever that can mirror Scott. But their starters could take some cues from Darvish. Dodgers officials view the Mets' starting rotation as a strength of their opponents, especially the left-handed Game 2 starter duo of Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana, who will start either Game 3 or Game 4.
No pitcher can truly emulate Darvish, who throws so many variations of so many different pitches that his arsenal can stretch into double digits. But Manaea throws six shots. Quintana rolls five. They could try to mix and match the bait on Ohtani like Darvish did.
Roberts noted that Ohtani idolized Darvish in his youth. The manager said it was possible that it added extra nerve to Ohtani's attacks. That dynamic won't exist against the Mets.
“Suffice it to say,” Roberts said, “I'm happy we got Yu Darvish out of the way and can kind of move forward.”
(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani hitting in the NLDS: Harry How/Getty Images)
