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By Shaun McAvoy
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Los Angeles Dodgers will need one of their star players to return to form as they prepare to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS.
Los Angeles has made it this far in the playoffs without its best player making that much of an impact. Superstar Shohei Ohtani has struggled this postseason, batting only .148 with two home runs and five RBIs. The 31-year-old two-way star has struck out a dozen times this postseason and has struggled against left-handed pitchers.
While speaking to reporters, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was brutally honest regarding Ohtani's recent struggles and how the team needs him to return to form, in a YouTube video posted by Dodgers Nation on Saturday.
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“I think a lot of it actually was driven by the left-handed pitching," Roberts told reporters in a video posted to YouTube by Dodgers Nation. "And even with that, he wasn’t as bad during the regular season as he was in the postseason versus those guys. Certainly, whatever opponent we face (in the NLCS), they’re gonna try to put as many lefties on Shohei (as they can). But hoping that he can do a little self-reflecting on that series, and how aggressive he was outside of the strike zone, passive in the zone. Just the at-bat quality needs to get better.
“We’re not going to win the World Series with that sort of performance. So we’re counting on a recalibration, getting back into the strike zone, and understanding when he faces left-handed pitching what they’re gonna try to do – crowd him in, off (the plate), spin him away. He’s just gotta be better at managing the hitting zone. I’m counting on it. We’re all counting on it.”
The Brewers had the best regular season record in all of baseball at 97-65 and a rising star in lefty pitcher Jacob Misiorowski. The NLCS will be the biggest challenge that the Dodgers have faced this season, and the team will need Ohtani to perform at the high level he can to give them the best chance to make it back to the World Series.
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