The Los Angeles Dodgers were the only team to sweep in this year’s wild card round. The team will take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series, and Shohei Ohtani will be the starting pitcher.
Ohtani did not pitch in last year’s postseason, so he will be making his long-anticipated postseason debut on the mound. He did not start pitching until midway through the season, but posted a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts. The Dodgers have been careful with his workload, but the president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, revealed the team will not put any limitations on him at this point.
“I just think he’s a normal starting pitcher now,” Friedman told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. “Kind of eased him along. Just a normal starting pitcher.”
Ohtani has pitched four innings this season. However, he started off pitching short outings. In his last start, he threw six shutout innings with eight strikeouts, notching his first quality start of the year. He will need to deliver in a big spot against the Philadelphia Phillies, given the Dodgers’ bullpen woes.
The Dodgers’ bullpen has already given up five earned runs in two games. The Phillies present a tougher matchup than the Reds, and the more innings Ohtani can go, the less the Dodgers will need to rely on the bullpen.
Ohtani’s penultimate start of the regular season came against the Phillies. He threw five shutout innings with one walk and five strikeouts. The Dodges will be hoping for an even better outing in Game 1.
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