After winning Game 1 of the Division Series against the San Diego Padres, there was no LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani tied the game 3-3 at Dodger Stadium on the 6th (Korea time), pulling a 96.9-mile fastball that flew into Dylan Shees’ high strike zone in the middle with two outs and runners on the first and second bases in the bottom of the second inning when he was trailing 0-3. It was a decisive shot for the Dodgers to come from behind to win 7-5.
However, Otani’s bat was not very good since then. After the home run, he only had three hits (0.167), one RBI, and 10 strikeouts in 18 times at bat. In the final fifth game, he bowed his head to three strikeouts and had no hits in four times at bat, failing to play a role.
Ironically, some critics say Ohtani’s poor performance clearly demonstrated that Ohtani is not the only one in the Dodgers. In response, Mookie Betts said in an interview with local media right after Game 5, “This series demonstrated why there are 26 players on a team roster. Neither Ohtani nor I won alone. We are not a team for one player. We are a whole team.”
Anyway, Ohtani, who moved to the Dodgers after signing a 10-year, $700 million historic contract, failed to overcome the frustrating hit in his first fall baseball series and played the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the New York Mets shortly after he virtually confirmed the regular season MVP.
Ohtani struggled against San Diego because he was blocked by two pitchers. The same Japanese ace, Darvish Yu, and left-hander setup man Tanner Scott tied Ohtani tightly.
Darvish started in Game 2 and Game 5 and overwhelmed Ohtani with three strikeouts from six times at bat, while Scott faced Ohtani four times and struck out all of them. Ohtani had seven strikeouts and no hits from 10 times at bat against the two pitchers. In particular, Scott was traumatized to the extent that Ohtani woke up suddenly even when he was sleeping.
What Ohtani is weak about Darvish is that various pitches, flashy ball combinations, and psychological pressure as a “child idol” worked. In response, manager Dave Roberts said, “Ohtani may have felt a psychological burden toward Darvish, who he idolized at bat.”
Then, is there a pitcher like Darvish or Scott in the Mets.
In an article titled “Can the Mets follow the blueprint of the Padres that neutralized Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani?” local media The Athletic reported on the 13th, “The Mets have no reliever who can imitate Scott, but the starting pitchers may have gotten clues from Darvish. Dodgers officials say the Mets’ starting lineup is strong. In particular, they pay attention to left-hander Sean Munaire in Game 2 and starting pitcher Jose Kintana in Game 3 or Game 4.” 안전놀이터
The two pitchers posted three earned runs in the three-point range during the regular season, and pitched in two consecutive postseason games, continuing their good pitching with three earned runs in 12 innings and zero earned runs in 11 innings, respectively. He is the core of the Mets’ performance in which they form a triangle formation with starting pitcher Luis Severino.
The media outlet said, “No one can imitate Darvish’s anomaly, but Farnair can play six pitches and Kintana can play five pitches. They can deal with Ohtani by tricking him into a pitch like Darvish.” However, the media added, “However, no player in the Mets’ pitching staff has the same kind of relationship as a ‘child idol’.” This means that Ohtani has no pitcher who can afford to bear the burden of psychology.
“Compared to the last six to eight weeks of the season, Otani had more bats in his pitches when he was out of the heating zone. However, he is unlikely to continue such hits against the Mets. The Mets do not have pitchers like Darvish or Scott,” Roberts said.
