Shohei Ohtani may not get many more pitches this World Series.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said his team will continue to play the two-way phenom deliberately, as it did four times in Monday’s 6-5 loss in 18 innings in Game 3 of the World Series.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Ohtani connected on all five of his non-intentional walk appearances (he went 4-for-4 with a walk) and hit a pair of solo homers, including a tie-breaker off Seranthony Dominguez in the seventh inning, tying the score at 5-5.
Toronto intentionally walked him in each of his next four at-bats before inadvertently walking four pitches in his final at-bat.
“Yeah, mound visit — you know, we try to throw around him. You rely on Seranthony making pitches to do that. Sometimes it’s hard for pitchers to do that when you’re trying to throw a ball and you don’t put it where you want to put it,” Schneider said. “But he played a great game, he’s a great player, but I think after that you take the bat out of his hands.”
Shohei Ohtani’s at-bats in Game 3
| Innings | Result |
|---|---|
| 1st (lead-off, 0-0) | 2B |
| 3rd (1 off, none on, 1-0 LAD) | HR |
| 5th (1 out, runner on first, 4-2 TOR) | RBI double |
| 7th (1 off, none on, 5-4 TOR) | HR |
| 9th (1 off, none on, 5-5) | IBB |
| 11th (2 off, none on, 5-5) | IBB |
| 13th (2 out, runner on third, 5-5) | IBB |
| 15th (1 off, none on, 5-5) | IBB |
| 17th (2 off, 1 on, 5-5) | BB |
Ohtani is a constant reminder this postseason of why he’s arguably the greatest baseball player ever, having previously authored perhaps the most impressive single-game performance in MLB history in the Dodgers’ Game 4 NLCS win over the Brewers.
Schneider showed during the regular season that he would prefer to face non-MVPs in critical spots by walking the Yankees’ Aaron Judge more than other teams, even if it went against conventional wisdom.
And it looks like he’s now reached his breaking point with Ohtani.
Toronto pitched to Ohtani in each of his first 14 at-bats this World Series, walking just once in a non-intentional manner before throwing in the towel.
Ohtani had four extra-base hits to open Monday’s game – two home runs and two doubles – with his final two hits helping erase both of Toronto’s leads.
And then Schneider started the running brigade.
The Dodgers didn’t have a man on base on three of the occasions, and a runner-on-third, two-out jam in the 15th inning clearly required Ohtani to walk.
Toronto actually tried to eliminate Ohtani in the 17th with a lefty on the mound and a man on second and two outs since righty Mookie Betts was waiting on deck, but Brendon Little missed the zone on all four pitches.
The Dodgers won the game in the next inning on Freddie Freeman’s home run, showing that even if Ohtani is avoided, this Los Angeles lineup is so deep and formidable.
Just don’t expect Ohtani to get the kind of opportunity Freeman got.
“(Ohtani’s) performance was really good. He’s maybe the best player in the world, you know. I think you’re kind of reacting in real time. Again, man, they’ve got a really talented lineup. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to just let him out and take on Mookie and Freddie,” Schneider said.
“So every situation is different. You really have to perform at a high level against him. I think we did that the first couple games. I know he hit the homer (Braydon Fisher) in Game 1, but I think we performed pretty well today, and he’s a great player and made some really good swings today.”
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