The Los Angeles Dodgers are thought of as an unbeatable force destined to win their third straight World Series title, and understandably so. They have one of the most stacked rosters in MLB history on paper, and even with some regular-season injury woes and inconsistency, they still won 100 games. Well, they've played two postseason games so far this fall, and while the sample size is small, it's safe to say they don't look like an unbeatable force — or anything close to that.
A big reason for that reality has to do with Shohei Ohtani, who has gone just 2-for-8 with two singles in the two games. As weird as this is to say, given how loaded this Dodgers roster is on paper, if the Los Angeles is only going to get a mediocre version of Ohtani, they'll have a hard time getting past Atlanta, let alone winning the whole thing.
Dodgers' lineup is more beatable than you might think with lesser version of Shohei Ohtani
When looking at the Dodgers lineup, you see a group littered with All-Star talent and even some future Hall of Famers. While most of the players in their lineup have had excellent careers, though, how many of them are having excellent 2026 campaigns?
Mookie Betts hit .257 with 23 home runs and a .787 OPS — not bad, but not quite the Betts we've come to expect. Kyle Tucker looked better down the stretch and homered in Game 1 of this series, but he hit 17 home runs with a .715 OPS in the regular season. Teoscar Hernandez also looked better in the second half, but he had a .759 OPS overall. Even an All-Star like Freddie Freeman (.681 second-half OPS) hasn't been himself for a while. Andy Pages has some historically bad postseason numbers (8-for-77 with 2 HR and 5 RBI in 26 games) as well.
Ultimately, while this lineup is full of big names, they haven't been playing at a superstar level. In the second half, the Dodgers ranked 11th in the Majors in runs scored, which might not seem awful, but it was good for only fifth-best among the eight remaining playoff teams. The players above being inconsistent at best has a lot to do with L.A. being mediocre at best in the second half at the dish.
Shohei Ohtani hasn't been himself for a while, either
Their inconsistency might not feel as detrimental had Ohtani been his usual MVP self, but he hasn't been. In the second half, Ohtani has slashed .245/.325/.447 with eight home runs and 23 RBI in 47 games. He had a 106 wRC+, which might not be bad, but he had a 157 wRC+ in the first half. He has a 154 wRC+ in his career. Ohtani has not been the Ohtani we've come to expect for a while now. He hasn't been bad, but he's been merely ordinary.
In a world in which the Dodgers are getting typical production from guys like Freeman, Betts, Tucker and others, Ohtani being a league-average hitter isn't such a big deal. In this world, though, the Dodgers are not getting elite production from those guys, and at this point, such an outcome shouldn't be the expectation. That leaves Ohtani as the guy who needs to step up.
Dodgers won't three-peat without Shohei Ohtani playing like Shohei Ohtani
The Dodgers need Ohtani, the best player on the planet when at his best, to carry the team. He's capable of this, and we've seen that at points this season, but not of late. Given what we've seen from L.A. so far, can they really win it all without an elite version of Ohtani?
The pitching is obviously good enough, but that's only part of the battle. While their offense took a major step back in the second half, so did their record, as they went from 61-36 to begin the year to 39-26 down the stretch. A big reason their record was even that good after the break has to do with playing subpar competition in September, a month in which they went 18-7.
The Dodgers are still the Dodgers, so they should be feared, but there's a large enough sample size to suggest they're extremely beatable without an elite version of Ohtani on the field carrying their lineup. Even in this series, despite not facing Chris Sale or Tyler Mahle yet, the Dodgers have scored just seven runs in two games, which isn't a great mark by any means. If Ohtani can't get things going (and that could very well be the case given that he's not 100 percent right now), the Dodgers' margin for error becomes incredibly thin, and that could lead to an early October exit.
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