Dodgers Face Elimination as Ohtani’s Two-Way Season Takes Its Toll in NLCS

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one loss away from the end of their season after falling 6-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night, putting Milwaukee up three games to none in the best-of-seven series.

The defending champions could be eliminated as early as Thursday. Much of the discussion around the team’s collapse has centered on Shohei Ohtani, whose physical struggles this season have limited the kind of impact he’s made in past postseasons.

Ohtani, who in 2024 became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, and who hit 55 homers last year before launching three home runs against the Brewers in last year’s postseason, has not been able to replicate that power this October. Problems with his right arm and left knee, which first became noticeable around the All-Star break, eventually forced him off the mound entirely and affected his hitting as well.

By September, Ohtani’s situation had become difficult to manage. He initially tried to play through the physical limitations before going on the 15-day injured list. He has not looked like his usual self throughout this postseason, though he has reached base in six of the seven playoff games he’s played.

On Wednesday, Ohtani batted sixth in the Dodgers’ lineup, with Teoscar Hernandez batting third, Kyle Tucker fourth and Andy Pages fifth. Ohtani reached base three times in the game — hit by a pitch, a walk and a single to center field — but did not provide the power the Dodgers have relied on in previous playoff runs.

The Dodgers failed to score against Brewers starter Robert Gasser through five innings. Dodgers starter Blake Snell gave up a leadoff home run to Jackson Chourio on the first pitch of the game before retiring the next three batters by strikeout. Snell pitched into the seventh inning, allowing a walk and a single in the second but keeping the Brewers off the board until back-to-back home runs by Jake Bauers and Andrew Mitchell put Milwaukee ahead 4-2.

The Dodgers, who signed Ohtani to a deal worth more than $400 million, are now facing the prospect of their season ending against a Brewers team that has outplayed them across hitting, pitching and fielding in the series so far.