Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run since August 18 against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game 4 of the NLCS on Thursday night.
But it wasn’t enough to propel Los Angeles to a win, nor did it erase the brutal performance Ohtani produced not just during this NLCS sweep but throughout the postseason.
Ohtani addressed the media after the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss against Milwaukee and was asked how challenging the NLCS was for him.
“The Brewers were overall strong, and a very good team. And [they] really exposed parts of me as a player, and got to give some credit to that,” Ohtani said in translated English, per SportsNet LA.
Ohtani certainly looked exposed throughout the series, aside from that one swing in the second inning on Thursday night.
He had three hits and six strikeouts during the four-game series, producing a .231 batting average and a .795 OPS.
Throughout the postseason, Ohtani produced a .192 average, a .631 OPS, and 10 strikeouts compared to five hits. He also didn’t pitch during the postseason, so he wasn’t able to negate his mediocre hitting with success on the mound.
Ohtani is the world’s best baseball player. And even the world’s best baseball player is liable to face a slump sometimes.
It just came at the worst possible time for Los Angeles. His ailments likely did not help the situation, either.
But Ohtani’s comment convey that the Brewers managed to make matters even worse.
