Category: Baseball

They will wake up in Cleveland still loving José Ramírez. That will never change, nor, likely, will Ramírez’s regard for the city he’s insisted on making his baseball home.

Yet the love affair between future Hall of Famer and scrappy municipality hit a most unpredictable speed bump, right around the time a ground ball skidded off the very edge of the artificial turf on Tropicana Field’s infield.

Ramírez, the beloved third baseman whose playoff heroics drove the Cleveland Guardians into a commanding position in this American League Championship Series, failed to stay down on a ground ball off the bat of Tampa Bay’s Ben Williamson with two outs in the fourth inning of a scoreless game, runners at the corners, the Guardians still in position to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

It was a ball he’d fielded thousands of times in his 14-year career. This time, though, he appeared to eyeball the grounder hitting the dirt. Instead, it clipped off the turf and skidded right between his legs. Victor Mesa Jr. scampered home with the game's first run.

And if there's any team you don't want to leave the door open, it's the Rays.

"When they smell blood," says Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, "they take it and run."

Seconds later, after a Liam Hicks two-run single, a scoreless game turned into a three-run Tampa Bay Rays lead and eventually, a series-tying 3-1 victory Tuesday, Oct. 13 at Tropicana Field.

A costly two-out error from Jose Ramirez gets the Rays on the board pic.twitter.com/1KLyjAQl50

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 14, 2026

To that point, it seemed the Guardians were still in control. Ramírez played hero in Game 1, his leadoff single sparking a go-ahead, eighth-inning rally, his RBI double and daring break for third base keying a put-away rally in the ninth.

Sure, Cleveland rookie starter Parker Messick and Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta were locked in a pitchers' duel. But Messick kept getting ground-ball double plays when he needed them. The Guardians had played flawless ball with their backs against the wall since falling down 2-0 in their AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox.

Since then? Win-win-win-win, just like the song says. They were grooving.

Which is what made their franchise cornerstone giving it away so shocking.

"José Ramírez," says Rays manager Kevin Cash, "is as good as any third baseman there is in the game."

After the ball skidded by him, all Ramírez could do was stare at his glove and furrow his brow, the telltale sign Ramírez is not right. Tropicana Field roared around him.

"It’s a little faster here," Ramírez said of the Tropicana Field infield, through a club translator. "I was playing parallel to the base and the ball bounced right on the edge between the dirt and the turf.

"I tried to knock it down, but I couldn’t."

Said Vogt: "Josey kind of got stuck. It looked like he just didn't move his feet. And I don't know if it hit the lip or not on the second hop, but just kind of looked like he sat back a little bit with his feet set instead of moving his feet."

And after Peralta powered through six innings, and Tampa Bay’s good but not impenetrable bullpen held the line just enough, Ramírez’s gaffe was, to slightly overstate it, 100% the reason the ALCS is now 1-1.

And not 2-0, Guards up, going home to Cleveland.

Come Game 3 on Thursday, they will announce the starting lineups for both clubs, and the Progressive Field crowd will roar for Ramírez, sure, for his Game 5 ALDS game-winning homer and Game 1 ALCS heroics.

Yet it will also be an acknowledgment that Ramírez and The Land are still cool. They probably always will be.

For one moment, though, Ramírez blinked. And the love song hit a rare sour note.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In ALCS Game 2, José Ramírez let the Guardians down. He won't stay there for long

The Dodgers never waver in their game plan for the regular season: win enough games to secure a bye in the opening round of the playoffs and, in so doing, afford players all the down time they need during the summer to be in top form come fall. They do not need to hurry anyone off the injured list so they can squeak out another National League West title.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers and their increasingly perilous hope of a three-peat, they did not follow that game plan with Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers failed Ohtani this summer, and now all that remains is for them to cross their collective fingers and hope for the best.

Hope, as they say, is not a strategy.

The Dodgers should drop Ohtani from the postseason roster.

They won’t. They won’t even take him out of Wednesday’s lineup.

Amid headlines about how the Dodgers might have benched Ohtani for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, manager Dave Roberts said the thinking was more about coupling Tuesday’s day off with a second consecutive day of rest.

“It was never a benching,” Roberts said.

Read more:Dave Roberts says Shohei Ohtani is adamant he feels good enough, will remain in lineup

Roberts drew a parallel between what might have happened with Ohtani and what did happen with Freddie Freeman during the NLCS two years ago, when the Dodgers provided what the manager called a “reset” — a day off for the team, followed by a rest day for Freeman.

“And he ends up winning the MVP in the World Series,” Roberts said.

Freeman had been playing with a bad ankle for three weeks, and even then he had been more productive that October than Ohtani has been in this one. Ohtani has been playing with a bad knee and biceps for three months, and the Dodgers already have tried intermittent rest.

They tried that in September, twice. They touted their bye week before the start of the playoffs. They talked up their three days off before the start of the NLCS.

They went 0 for 4. Enough already.

Roberts said the Dodgers — not just Ohtani, but the coaching staff and the training staff — see progress. True, no doubt. But we’ve heard similarly encouraging words after each of Ohtani’s rest breaks.

“We’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him,” Roberts said, “and that’s it.”

Ohtani said Tuesday that his symptoms have subsided since the Dodgers put him on the injured list, for the minimum stay. That was a month ago.

On Tuesday, he said his approaches can alternate between “focusing on reducing the symptoms and getting rid of the pain and/or just making sure that I’m moving well in the swing.”

There is no evidence so far that this might work, and an uncomfortable and increasing body of evidence that it might not.

Ohtani is batting .150 in the playoffs, with three hits in 20 at-bats. Of the 39 players with at least 20 at-bats this postseason entering play Tuesday, only three have a lower OPS than Ohtani’s .411.

One of them, Dodgers catcher Will Smith, has one hit in 23 at-bats. But he is hitting the ball hard: in the NLCS, one ball hit at 102 mph, another at 101, and every ball hit harder than the one Ohtani hit the hardest.

That exit velocity: 86 mph.

He has not pulled a ball in the series for a hit, or for an out.

Over his major league career, he has homered once every 14 at-bats.

He has not hit a home run since Aug. 18, a span of 107 at-bats. He has driven in one run since then; the Dodgers batted him cleanup in Game 2.

And, since hitting that last home run, Ohtani is batting .036 against fastballs thrown 95 mph or harder. The average fastball in this postseason: 96.2 mph, according to analyst Mike Petriello’s close-up of all the different ways Ohtani’s swing is fouled up.

Breaking balls? Brewers reliever JoJo Romero threw him one low and away in Game 2, and Ohtani lost his bat as he lunged to make contact.

When Ohtani spoke with reporters before the playoffs started, he said he might not know the full extent of his injuries or what he might need to do to rehabilitate them until after the postseason.

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers' three-peat dreams are on life support as the deflated heroes return home

“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this,” he said then. “I think that process is going to happen during the offseason, when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”

The Dodgers did not need Ohtani to win the NL West. They needed to shut him down for an extended period to maximize their chances of winning in October.

They failed to do that. They believed a few days of rest would allow them to nurse Ohtani through the rest of the season.

One big swing in October, and who cares? Ask Kirk Gibson, who hobbled to bat and then hit one of the most dramatic home runs in World Series history.

Here is what the Dodgers ought to keep in mind: That was the only at-bat Gibson took in that 1988 World Series.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers are facing the Brewers in the NLCS for the second year in a row, and they’re getting the attention of Los Angeles.

Blake Snell, who was a hero in the postseason last year for the Dodgers, is paying attention to everything Milwaukee is doing on and off the field in the second go-around.

“I noticed how they talk, a lot of one-on-one competition is a key for them. The way Pat Murphy talks to the team is way different than last year,” Snell said. “So I understand that.”

Blake Snell has been keeping receipts this NLCS

Snell is taking the mound in a HUGE NLCS Game 3 at home vs the Brewers tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/JMhBRWQy3o

— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 13, 2026

A year ago, the Brewers finished the regular season 97-65, the best record in baseball.

When they met Los Angeles in the NLCS, they were swept.

A year later, the roles are reversed.

“How do you counter that? How do you get them into a different place? I think They’re in a good spot now, especially being up 2-0 but adversity hits and that’s when thoughts start racing,” Snell said.

The Dodgers are certainly facing early adversity in the series as they’re in a 2-0 deficit in Milwaukee.

Both Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto had their shortest postseason outings in their careers on Sunday and Monday night. Skubal was pulled after throwing 80 pitches through five innings, while Yamamoto was sent to the showers following 75 pitches through 2 ⅔ innings.

In Game 1, Los Angeles got NL CY Young candidate Jacob Misirowski to exit early after he tossed 4 ⅓ innings on 94 pitches, giving up five hits.

When they faced the Brewers bullpen, the Dodgers only mustered up two more hits and squandered scoring opportunities in the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings.

With Yamamoto’s early exit in Game 2, Los Angeles exhausted their bullpen by using seven different pitchers, who gave up a combined four runs.

Snell is set to take the mound when Game 3 begins on Wednesday night and will need to pitch deep to get the Dodgers out of the hole they’ve dug.

Snell has made only one start this postseason, and it was 10 days ago. And didn’t necessarily go the distance.

In Game 2 of the NLDS against the Braves, Snell gave up only three hits and one run. But also threw 90 pitches in 3 ⅔ innings.

In the NLCS last year, Snell threw an eight-inning game that featured 10 strikeouts against the Brewers.

So with Game 3 on the horizon, it begs the question.

Which postseason version will the Dodgers get from Snell?

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani spoke passionately Tuesday with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. He acknowledged that he’s playing with pain.

He flat-out insisted, though, that he can not only play, but that he’s close to being the most feared hitter in the game again.

Roberts listened.

Roberts believed him.

So Ohtani will be back in the Dodgers’ lineup Wednesday for Game 3 (8 p.m. ET FOX) of the National League Championship Series, trying to not only save the Dodgers’ season, but preserve their dynasty.

“He wants to be in there and help us win a ballgame,’’ Roberts said, “and win a championship. … He was very convicted that he is on to something mechanically. He was adamant that he can help us. He's well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that's all I needed to hear.’’

The facts say that Ohtani is compromised, playing with a sore left knee and inflamed right biceps, which is reflected by his ugly slump: No homers since Aug. 18. Batting .157 with one RBI since Aug. 19. Hitting .150 with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts this postseason.

Roberts told Ohtani that he’d be glad to give him the next game or two off, even with the Dodgers' season on the brink, but Ohtani didn’t want to hear a thing about it.

It would be different if this were the regular season, but not now, not with this urgency.

The Dodgers are down 2 games to zero to the Milwaukee Brewers, and if Ohtani took time off, the next time he might be playing again would be spring training − whenever that is with a looming lockout.

Ohtani wants to be the man, just like he’s been ever since his arrival in this country. Just like he's been since signing a $700 million contract with the Dodgers three years ago.

“That's what I think all great players have in the biggest moments,’’ Roberts said. “They expect to perform more than anyone. I do think that Shohei has taken this as a personal challenge.

“But at the end of the day, it's not a one-man show. It's got to be all of us, myself included, have got to be better. So we've all got to do this together, and he's a part of this whole cog. That was kind of my thing is, 'You do you, and we all got to do our part as well.'"

Ohtani, speaking for the first time since the start of the postseason, echoed Roberts’ sentiments and thoughts on their conversation. He’s convinced he’s close. He believes that everyone will soon see the great Ohtani of old, the one that won four MVP awards and will likely finish second this season.

“Over the course of this long season, there's only really a short period of time when my mechanics are completely in sync,’’ Ohtani said through his interpreter. “So it's just really kind of just going back and forth, finding the right parts of the swing and managing just the different parts of the swing. It's a constant, ongoing process that's headed in the right direction.’’

Yet, when asked how much he’s being impacted by the injuries, he refused to use it as an excuse for his struggles.

“The results, (I) take full responsibility,’’ Ohtani said. “That's all I can really say, why the results haven't been where I wanted it to be. … The symptoms shouldn't be the reason why I can't hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility. I take that as an opportunity for me to just take full responsibility for it.’’

Besides, he says, the best cure for pain will be cold champagne being sprayed all over him if the Dodgers win their third consecutive World Series.

“The No. 1 priority is for the team to win,’’ Ohtani said. “Whether that be for me to contribute on the offensive side, I do want to feel confident in the approach that I'm taking on that day, whether that be mechanical or anything else. So, that's really just been my focus overall.’’

Roberts wouldn’t divulge where Ohtani will hit in the lineup, only saying it will be in the top six spots, after Ohtani batted cleanup the past two games. Yet, wherever he bats, Roberts believes everyone is about to see a different Ohtani.

The Dodgers certainly need him. Now. More than ever.

“There's just complete conviction that he's on to something, and he feels like he can help us,’’ Roberts said. “He’s saying, 'I want to be in there. I know I can help the team. I’m close.'"

“For me that's all I need to hear. I know we're better with him in the lineup. Everyone knows that, that's no secret.’’

Roberts announced his decision to keep Ohtani in the lineup while the Brewers were leaving Dodger Stadium, but the truth is the Brewers expected this. They always believed he was playing, with Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell saying he’d have been “shocked’’ if Ohtani was benched.

“He's the greatest player in the game, arguably going down as the best player ever,’’ Mitchell said. “This game is very hard. One day you can be on top of the world, and on the next you are hitting the lowest of lows. …

“I know that whether he's feeling good or he's not feeling good, he's always going to be someone that you have to game plan for. You never know. It takes one swing to come back. I think there's proof of that even last year. Probably didn't have the greatest series to start, but that Game 4, it just takes one day.’’

Oh yeah, that Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS, in the pennant-clinching game − one that will live in Dodgers’ fame.

In one of the greatest two-way performances in history, Ohtani hit three home runs and pitched six shutout innings, striking out 10.

The Dodgers certainly remember.

So do the Brewers.

“We remember vividly at this time last year,’’ Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, “that he maybe had the best baseball game ever played the day he pitched against us and hit a home run every time up. You can't forget that, his capabilities.

“But still, all that being said, do you know how tough it is to execute what he did? You still have to go at him. You have to go at everybody.’’

The Dodgers, of course, never imagined that they’d be in this predicament, with not only Ohtani floundering at the plate, but most of the team. They are hitting just .193 with a .263 on-base percentage this postseason, scoring just 19 runs in six games, with two runs scored on errors and two runs on sacrifice flies.

Their powerful lineup has one extra-base hit this series, and they continue to flail away with runners in scoring position, going 2-for-26 with center fielder Andy Pages responsible for the two hits.

“The offense has to find a way to get some more timely hits,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said. “We do have to keep applying pressure, but we’ve got to find a way to break through.”

Maybe, just maybe, it will take Ohtani to show them the way.

Once again.

“He knows we’re all still behind him,’’ Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “He's going to get a big hit for us. I know that. I can tell you right now he's going to get a big hit for us at some point, and that's going to turn things."

Ohtani knows that time is of the essence.

He and his teammates have a dynasty to save.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani will stay in Dodgers' lineup. He's convinced he's close to finding MVP form.

Aaron Boone has the support of one former Yankees manager to keep his job after another failed season ended in the ALDS. 

Former skipper Joe Girardi, the last Yanks manager to lead the team to a World Series title, went to bat for Boone during an appearance on “The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman” released Tuesday. 

Indications are Boone will return to The Bronx next season, but calls for his job have come since the Yankees were swept out of the playoffs by the Rays last week. A poll conducted by The Post showed that more than 10,000 out of 12,507 voters wanted to see Boone given the boot. 

But when asked if Boone had a shelf life, Girardi said he didn’t think so. 

“I think you could argue this was his best year of managing,” Girardi said on the show. “I think he got the most out of this team during the course of the season with all they had to deal with. And the way they won games, he had to flip the way they won games. They had to win them from a pitching standpoint, different from some of the years past where they would win by just outslugging people. He couldn’t do that this year. And I think he ran the bullpen extremely well and got the most out of those guys.” 

When it came to one major issue during the 2026 season for the Yankees, Girardi felt it was the lineup but argued that its struggles shouldn’t lie at the feet of Boone. 

“Can you say that that’s his fault? I don’t think so,” Girardi said. “To me, that’s not his fault. I just don’t think the guys had the years that they projected them to have, or some of the guys just aren’t as good as they thought they would be.” 

Boone has managed the Yankees for nine seasons and the ballclub has only reached the World Series once during his time as skipper. 

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani has done very little at the plate for his last 24 games, is dealing with injuries to his left knee and right biceps, and has looked lost at times at the plate during the postseason. Yet the Dodgers are still sticking by their injured super star, with Ohtani set to start yet again in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night.

“He’s adamant he feels good enough to be in there. He’s close to finding something with his swing. I feel great about it,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday just before the Dodgers workout at Dodger Stadium. “He was very convicted that he is onto something mechanically. He was adamant that he can help us. He’s well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that’s all I needed to hear.”

Reports after Game 2 in Milwaukee said the Dodgers were considering sitting Ohtani amid his struggles, which include three singles and three walks in 24 plate appearances thus far in October. Roberts on Wednesday made clear if Ohtani sits it wouldn’t be a benching, but rather a reset or recovery day.

“It’s kind of what we did with Freddie [Freeman] in 2024. He was ailing, wasn’t feeling great, give him a couple days potentially to then reset, and he ends up winning the MVP in the World Series,” Roberts said. “It’s more of, ‘Hey man, if you’re not feeling good enough that you feel like you can perform up to your ability, then we’ll pivot, give you a couple days.’”

Ohtani this season has been affected by left knee irritation which caused him to miss the All-Star Game, and he was shut down from pitch after his July 3 start. His attempts to ramp up again pitching were eventually halted, and Ohtani also dealt with right biceps inflammation that landed him on the injured list in September.

“It’s everything. It’s the upper body, it’s the knee, and he’s just not perfect. He’s not,” Roberts said. “But in his words, he’s ready to go.”

Since returning from the injured list, Ohtani has eight hits in 37 at-bats (.216) with one extra-base hit, a double.

“The symptoms have subdued a lot, especially when I was on the IL, spending that time just being able to reduce the symptoms,” Ohtani said Tuesday, through interpreter Will Ireton. “As of now with the swing, it’s a daily process of trying different things, different feel on a daily basis.”

Ohtani hit his last home run on August 18, with 110 plate appearances since and just one run batted in.

“The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility,” Ohtani said, through Ireton. “I take that as an opportunity for me to just take full responsibility for it. Today it’s going to be another process for me to tinker and try new things.”

After batting second in the Dodgers’ first two playoff games, Ohtani batted fifth in Game 3 of the National League Division Series in Atlanta, and has batted fourth in the three games since. Roberts didn’t say exactly where Ohtani might bat in the lineup in Game 3, but said likely somewhere between second and sixth.

“No one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow and the ensuing days,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day in this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him, and that’s it.”

Shohei Ohtani emerged from the visiting dugout at American Family Field with a bat in his hand, and the mass of media members scattered in foul territory up the third-base line shifted his way, pulled by the magnetic force that is Ohtani’s stardom.

Monday marked the third straight day Ohtani had hit on the field, after a multi-round session off the pitching machine on the workout day and batting practice before each of the first two games of the National League Championship series against the Milwaukee Brewers. But the novelty of the move — Ohtani only took batting practice on the field a few times during the regular season, always in the midst of a slump — had yet to fully wear off.

“The results, take full responsibility,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Tuesday. “That’s all I can really say, why the results haven’t been where I wanted it to be. But I think there’s different approaches to this, whether that be focusing on reducing the symptoms and getting rid of the pain and/or just making sure that I’m moving well in the swing.”

That break of routine for the start of the NLCS did not pay off in terms of results. But after a conversation with Ohtani, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that he felt “great” about playing Ohtani in Game 3 of the NLCS, even though Ohtani is still physically compromised by nagging right biceps and left knee problems.

“He’s adamant he feels good enough to be in there,” Roberts said. “He’s close to finding something with his swing. … Yeah, he wants to be in there and help us win a ballgame and win a championship. Great conversation, and I’m excited about having him in there.”

Read more:Dodgers will consider sitting Shohei Ohtani after offense struggles in Game 2 NLCS loss

Roberts made clear that he wasn’t ever considering “benching” Ohtani, but rather weighing whether it would make sense to give him a couple days to “reset,” similar to how they approached Freddie Freeman’s ankle injury in 2024, giving him two days off during that postseason run.

“The symptoms have subdued a lot, especially when I was on the IL, spending that time just being able to reduce the symptoms,” Ohtani said. “As of now with the swing, it’s a daily process of trying different things, different feel on a daily basis.”

Though Ohtani’s arrival kicked off the Dodgers’ back-to-back championships, this isn’t his first time slumping in the postseason. His bat went quiet in the 2024 World Series (two for 19). And between his two-homer game to open last year’s wild-card round, and Game 4 of the NLCS when the two-way star authored the best individual game ever played, he went four for 33.

The difference this time is Ohtani, who has hit three singles in 20 postseason at-bats, isn’t fully healthy. But he was adamant that he would still be able to find a way to produce regardless.

“Over the course of this long season, there’s only really a short period of time when my mechanics is completely in sync,” he said. “So it’s just really kind of just going back and forth, finding the right parts of the swing and managing just the different parts of the swing. So it’s a constant, ongoing process that’s headed in the right direction.”

When healthy, Ohtani has the ability to break out of even the most dire of slumps with an otherworldly performance, like that three-homer (as a hitter), 10-strikeout (as a pitcher) all-timer. Opposing pitchers still have taken a cautious approach to facing him.

This version of Ohtani, however, hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18, a little over three weeks before he landed on the injured list. He’d played through nagging knee and biceps injuries for most of the season. But by the first week of September, the Dodgers could no longer argue that his poor performance wasn’t necessarily connected to his ailments.

Now, the stakes are as high as ever. Trailing the Brewers 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Dodgers desperately need to put themselves in the best possible position to win Game 3 and avoid four straight win-or-go-home contests. And to do so, they need to know what kind of production Ohtani is physically capable of.

“I’ve never wavered in my belief in him,” Roberts said. “The work that he’s putting in — shoot, he squared the bunt in Game 2 to potentially get on base. That just speaks to whatever it takes to help the team win. He’s always been about the team, whether it’s hitting first, second, fourth, or wherever, right? So for me, just hearing his conviction, that’s what I wanted to hear.”

The communication between Ohtani and the team on injuries has been a work in progress in his third year with the Dodgers.

“We certainly had a lot of communication with him throughout the year, and worked together really well in terms of how to go about this,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in late September.

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers' three-peat dreams are on life support as the deflated heroes return home

“And I think in his mind, he just thought that what he was dealing with was more minor, because it wasn’t like he would see a doctor and go, ‘Oh my God, you have this ailment.’ There were just a number of different things that were bothering him. And I think in his mind, he thought the best way to help the team was to go out and play, which I respect. But us staying really connected and sharing that information, I think, will be really important going forward.

“And again, the communication back and forth has been awesome. The fully sharing exactly how he’s feeling, maybe not as awesome. But again, I would rather [have] that with a guy than the other side of that.”

So, Ohtani kept trying to work his way back to the mound for weeks after receiving a lubricating Orthovisc injection in his knee at the beginning of the All-Star break. And when his biceps injury flared again, and the discomfort extended up through his neck, the Dodgers put off an IL move as long as possible.

Roberts said Ohtani’s conviction lined up with what the manager was hearing from the Dodgers hitting coaches and medical staff.

“No one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow and the ensuing days,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day in this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him, and that’s it.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Perhaps unexpected results in both games yesterday, though the Brewers won more games in the regular season than the Dodgers. Still, you’d probably have got long odds against Milwaukee winning the games started by both Skubal and Yamamoto. Still, they go to Los Angeles, knowing that they cannot be eliminated there. The Brewers either win the series there, or it’ll be returning to Milwaukee. Certainly, the Dodgers have not looked great this postseason especially on offense. They currently have a playoff OPS of just .591, which is the worst of the eight teams to get past the wild-card round. And that’s despite leading the post-season in HR, with eight.

Mind you, the overall OPS across all the playoffs is just .633, which is the lowest for a season since 1983. Pitching usually does tighten up in the post-season: the OPS there has been below .700 four of the past five years. But this year, it’s been a spectacular drop-off in offense. Anyway, just the one game today, the Rays seeking to even their series after an unexpected meltdown by their bullpen yesterday.

• Cleveland Guardians @ Tampa Bay Rays (1-0): 5 pm, TBS/HBO Max

Probable pitchers: Rays’ RHP Freddy Peralta vs. Guardians’ LHP Parker Messick

Where to watch: TBS/HBO MAX, TruTV, Univision/ TUDN

The Guardians come into tonight’s Game 2 of the ALCS looking to take control of the series, while the Rays hope to even the series before heading up to Cleveland.

Tampa Bay and Cleveland came into Game 1 of the ALCS off of very different ALDS performances. The Rays breezed through a sweep of the Yankees, having only allowed five runs across the three games. Cleveland, on the other hand, came back from a 0-2 deficit to win three in a row and send the Chicago White Sox home in the most dramatic of this year’s Division Series. And so, as we’ve seen many times in baseball before, Game 1 saw the hot team beat the rested team, with the Guardians stealing a game in Tropicana Field.

Game 1 was won largely off the brilliance of José Ramírez and rookie Chase DeLauter. The Maryland-born DeLauter got Cleveland on the board with a solo HR in the 6th, setting the stage for Cleveland’s comeback. After Patrick Bailey homer tied it at 2 in the 7th, before Ramírez and DeLauter sparked the winning rally in the 8th.

J-Ram started the inning with a single and move to third on DeLauter’s double. Nathaniel Lowe then singled up the middle off Tyler Wells to give the Guardians a 4-2 and put them up for good. Cedric Mullins hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 8th to cut the deficit in half, but Ramírez and DeLauter would spark a three-run rally in the 9th to seal Cleveland’s victory.

Game 2 now sees a matchup of All-Stars Freddy Peralta and Parker Messick. Peralta continued his resurgence with the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS, putting up a line of 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 3 Ks in a 5-2 win over the Yankees. That start lowered Peralta’s ERA to 3.15 since joining the Rays at the trade deadline, and 1.10 since the beginning of September.

The rookie southpaw Messick was brilliant in the regular season, but only so-so in two games against the White Sox. He took the loss in Game 1 against Chicago after allowing 2 runs across 4.2 IP while striking out six. In Game 4, he exited early due to a lack of control, walking 4 and allowing 2 runs in only 2.1 innings. Messick had a 1.35 ERA across 13.1 innings with 15 Ks against the Rays in the regular season. Peralta did not face the Guardians this year, last pitching against Cleveland in a 5-0 loss last year with Milwaukee.

Game two of the ALCS, the Guardians won game one.

The starters tonight are Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56) for the Guardians and Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42) for the Rays. I picked up Parker in trade in OOTP Baseball, and he’s been pretty good for me.

I’m not cheering for either team. I figured that, while watching yesterdays game that I would figure out who I was cheering for, but I just enjoyed watching, without picking a team.

Now the Brewers Dodgers series, I know who I’m cheering for.

Lineups:

So Go Baseball Go.

Shohei Ohtani, physically diminished and mired in one of the worst slumps of his major league career, will remain in the lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Ohtani, 32, has just three singles in 20 at-bats this postseason, with seven strikeouts and three walks. He has not hit a home run since Aug. 18, and finished the regular season batting .160 with a .284 on-base percentage over his final 88 plate appearances. The Dodgers finally put him on the injured list in early September, a concession to left knee and right biceps injuries that hampered him much of this season and reduced him to a one-way player.

It's a significant contrast from last postseason, when Ohtani hit eight home runs in 84 plate appearances, posted a .405 OBP and 1.096 OPS, while pitching at least once every series. The Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series, in seven games over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Facing a 2-0 deficit in this NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, Roberts held a long conversation with Ohtani in the off day before Game 3 and emerged confident Ohtani will begin producing.

"The word I would use is conviction: He was very convicted that he's on to something mechanically," Roberts told reporters in Los Angeles. "He was adamant that he can help us, he's well enough to help us win a baseball game. That's all we needed to hear."

The Dodgers and Ohtani have both kept the extent of his injuries vague, and Ohtani's performance since returning from the IL − a combined 8-for-41 including the postseason, with just one double and 15 strikeouts − have hardly tamped down concerns about his health.

Ohtani said Tuesday he believes the IL stint helped and that his health has improved.

"The symptoms have subdued a lot, especially when I was on the IL, spending that time just being able to reduce the symptoms," Ohtani told reporters in Los Angeles, via interpreter Will Ireton. "As of now with the swing, it's a daily process of trying different things, different feel on a daily basis."

Says Roberts: "It’s everything. It’s the upper body. It’s the knee. He’s just not perfect. But in his words, he’s ready to go."

In a sense, the fear of the Dodgers pulling the plug on Ohtani before he breaks out seems to exceed the concerns over continuing to run him out there. For now, the potential outweighs the empty plate appearances the Dodgers have received from their superstar through two NLCS games.

"We can all kind of analyze this. But no one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow or ensuing days," says Roberts. "But in this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him."

Ohtani refused to blame injuries for his poor performance, even as he's had to mitigate them for several weeks − and into the most scrutinized portion of the season.

"The symptoms shouldn't be the reason why I can't hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility," Ohtani told reporters. "I take that as an opportunity for me to just take full responsibility for it. Today it's going to be another process for me to tinker and try new things."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani will play in NLCS Game 3 as Dave Roberts feels breakthrough is near

The biggest question in baseball has finally been answered.

Shohei Ohtani will remain in the Dodgers’ starting lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night.

Manager Dave Roberts announced that decision during an off-day workout on Tuesday, confirming that Ohtani will continue as the Dodgers’ designated hitter despite an ongoing slump at the plate amid injuries to his left knee and right arm.

“He’s adamant he feels good enough to be in there,” Roberts said. “He’s close to finding something with his swing. I feel great about it.”

Ohtani took the podium at Dodger Stadium after Roberts’ address, speaking to reporters for the first time since the start of the playoffs, and shared similar confidence in his ability to turn things around.

“The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, adding that he takes “full responsibility” for his lack of results so far this October.

“The No. 1 priority is for the team to win,” he added. “So whether that be for me to contribute on the offensive side, I do want to feel confident in the approach that I’m taking on that day, whether that be mechanical or anything else. So that’s really just been my focus overall.”

Over the previous 24 hours, speculation about a potential Ohtani benching had run rampant around the start of this year’s NLCS.

The injury-plagued superstar had his worst performance of an already arduous postseason in Monday’s Game 2 loss to the Brewers, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while the Dodgers stumbled to a 2-0 hole in the best-of-seven series. 

With Ohtani’s batting average down to .150 in this year’s playoffs, including no extra-base hits or RBIs, Roberts first raised the possibility of removing the four-time MVP from the lineup in postgame comments he made to The Athletic on Monday night.

However, a source with knowledge of the situation later said the decision would come down to whether Ohtani still felt healthy enough to continue in his role as the two-time defending champion’s DH.

And, in a meeting with Roberts, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes in the manager’s office earlier Thursday afternoon, Ohtani strongly expressed that he did.

“He was very convicted that he is onto something mechanically,” Roberts said. “He was adamant that he can help us, he’s well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that’s all I needed to hear.”

Entering October, the Dodgers knew Ohtani’s injury issues would be difficult to manage. The two-way star had been at less than 100% since June, when he first developed a left knee problem that ultimately sidelined him as a pitcher. His right arm ailment had also become increasingly problematic down the stretch of the regular season, forcing him to spend two weeks on the injured list in September and contributing to a home run drought that dates back to Aug. 18.

“It’s everything,” Roberts said when asked specifically what is ailing Ohtani most right now. “It’s the upper body, it’s the knee. He’s just not perfect. He’s not.” But in his words, he’s ready to go.”

Still, the club has remained hopeful about what the 32-year-old slugger might be able to provide at the plate in the playoffs.

Even after he collected only two hits in the NL Division Series and was dropped in the batting order from the two-hole to the Nos. 4/5 spots, Roberts and Friedman insisted the superstar would eventually make a more consistent impact at the plate.

On Tuesday, Roberts doubled down.

“We’re better with him in the lineup,” he said. “Everyone knows that.”

Granted, that wasn’t the case on Monday, when Ohtani had his worst postseason performance yet. He struck out twice, failed to reach base safely for the first time in this year’s playoffs and looked glaringly out of sync with a number of awkward, uncomfortable swings.

But, Roberts said his confidence in the slugger has “never wavered” and clarified that his Monday night comments were not intended to be taken as a potential “benching.”

“It’s more of [asking him], ‘Hey, man, if you’re not feeling good enough that you feel like you can perform up to your ability, then we’ll pivot, give you a couple days,'” Roberts said, comparing Ohtani’s situation to that of Freddie Freeman’s in the 2024 playoffs, when the first baseman was given several off days in the early rounds of the postseason before going on to win MVP honors in the World Series.

“Talking to [Ohtani], he feels like he’s close to finding something and was close yesterday in finding something mechanically,” Roberts added. “With that, I’m excited. I’m all about it. So he’ll be in there.”

Roberts’ hope is that Ohtani will take all the renewed questions about his performance as a “personal challenge.”

“All great players have that in the biggest moments,” he said. “They expect to perform more than anyone.”

Whether Ohtani can do that in his current condition remains to be seen.

But for now, he will at least continue to get the opportunity, with the club deciding against the drastic move of dropping him to the bench.

“At the end of the day, in this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei,” Roberts said. “We’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him, and that’s it.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers are down 0-2 in their series agaisnt the Milwaukee Brewers after dropping both games road games. The two squads now get a day off to travel to Los Angeles where the series will continue, and possibly end if the Dodgers aren’t able to wake up. The reigning champions are more vulnerable than ever over the past three years and it’s almost like the entire baseball world is rooting for anyone other than LA. If they can’t win tomorrow that might be it for the defending champs.

We do have baseball today though as we shift our full attention to the American League. The Cleveland Guardians were able to snatch the first game yesterday evening, using some late offense to steal Game 1 in Tampa Bay and putting themselves in a great early position against the AL’s #1 seed. Led by manager and former Athletic Stephen Vogt, the Guardians are looking to break the second-longest championship drought across the four major American sports, bested only by the NFL’s Cardinals. After 78 years, I think Cleveland is ready to experience a parade.

Guardians at Rays (8:00 PM EDT)

Tampa Bay is the league’s #1 seed and looked like it for the first half in last night’s series opener. The final frames however were ugly for the Rays as their bullpen imploded and cost them the game. They might not have hit the panic button just yet but if they drop both of their home games, they’re in serious trouble.

For tonight they’ll have right-hander Freddy Peralta (5-2, 3.25 ERA*) taking the ball for this critical contest. The veteran has looked much better since his mid-season trade to Florida, helping to stabilize a Rays rotation that has plenty of upside but lots of health questions as well. Peralta has plenty of experience pitching in playoff games and tonight’s could be the biggest of his career. The Rays can not afford to go down 0-2 in this series before heading to Cleveland. They might not make it back to The Trop if they can’t secure the W tonight.

Here’s how the Rays will line up tonight:

The Devil Rays have entered October

👀: TBS/HBO MAX
👂: 95.7 WDAE pic.twitter.com/gHoxVbZh2c

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 13, 2026

While the Rays have a grizzled veteran going for them tonight, Cleveland have rookie right-hander Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) on the mound in this one. The righty is wrapping up his first full season as a big league pitcher and his 2026 couldn’t have gone much better. The 25-year-old made all 32 of his scheduled starts after claiming a spot in the season-opening rotation. Outside of a tough June Messick was pitching like an ace all season long and his 2.56 ERA ranks sixth in the entire sport. The Guardians got to like their chances with him on the mound, though they’ve been careful with him in his two postseason starts so far.

And here’s how the Guardians will line up this evening:

It's us and we're back.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/p75MtKeAel

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 13, 2026

Who you guys got taking tonight’s game? Do the Rays find themselves in an 0-2 hole heading back to Cleveland or will they be able to snag their second home game from the Guardians. We’re about to find out!

*Statistics are with Rays only after his acquisition from the Mets at this summer’s trade deadline

While the NLCS is on hiatus Tuesday as the Dodgers and Brewers travel to Los Angeles with Milwaukee ahead 2-0, there will still be baseball on our televisions Tuesday evening.

The Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays play Game 2 of their ALCS at 8 p.m. (TBS, truTV and streaming on HBO Max) with the Guardians ahead 1-0 after rallying for a 7-3 win Monday night.

Tampa Bay, looking to avoid dropping both games at home to begin the series, sends Freddy Peralta (0-0, 1.93 ERA) to the mound after acquiring him from the Mets ahead of the trade deadline. Cleveland has Parker Messick (0-1, 5.40 ERA) making his third start of the postseason.

The Guardians have won four straight playoff games since losing their first two, while Tampa Bay saw its postseason-opening three-game win streak snapped in Game 1.

For those who are still invested even with the Braves eliminated, share your thoughts below when things get underway tonight in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Go Rays!