Shohei Ohtani took his postseason slump personal, and Brewers should be worried

The Los Angeles Dodgers are just two wins away from getting back to the World Series for the second consecutive season. They swept the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series, easily took care of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, and have now gotten off to a 2-0 lead in the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, with both of their wins coming on the road at American Family Field.

The Dodgers have been utterly dominant in October, causing MLB fans to complain about payroll discrepancy, and they could be even scarier. They've gone 7-1 this October despite Shohei Ohtani, arguably the best player on the planet, essentially being a non-factor at the plate. Ohtani seems determined to change that.

For the first time all year, Ohtani took batting practice on the field rather than doing so in the cages in the clubhouse. Whether this subtle, yet very clear change in routine will lead to anything remains to be seen, but it's certainly notable that Ohtani picked now of all times to make a change.

Early returns suggest Ohtani might be finding his swing.

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Shohei Ohtani had to try something different to break out of slump

It's strange to see an MVP-caliber player change his routine, but at this point, why not? Ohtani has been in the midst of one of the worst slumps of his career at the worst possible time.

The soon-to-be four-time MVP has slashed .147/.275/.324 with two home runs and six RBI this postseason, and things have only gone worse for him lately. Since the start of the NLDS, Ohtani has gone 2-for-25 (.080 BA) with just two RBI and 12 strikeouts. In the NLCS, he's gone 1-for-7 with three strikeouts. He drew three walks in Game 1 of the NLCS and has drawn six walks this postseason, but outside of the walks and the damage he caused in the Wild Card Series, Ohtani has been invisible, as strange as that is to say.

Obviously, it's too soon to tell whether this change will lead to success, but frankly, things couldn't have been going much worse for Ohtani. It was worth a shot, and if it leads to success, the Brewers will be in even more trouble than envisioned.

Brewers should be terrified of potential Shohei Ohtani breakout

The NLCS has gotten off to a brutal start for Milwaukee, as they've lost each of the first two games, both of which came at home. It'd be foolish to count them out entirely, but they certainly face an uphill battle. Ohtani finding a way to contribute would make their lives that much more difficult.

As poorly as those two games went in Milwaukee, the Dodgers were held to just seven total runs in Milwaukee. The Brewers scored two total runs, which explains the losses, but they've certainly pitched well enough to win at least one game. Limiting the Dodgers' offense has been accomplished largely because their best player hasn't really done much of anything.

Can the Brewers contain Los Angeles if Ohtani starts hitting? Again, accomplishing that becomes much tougher. The Brewers will only manage to score so many runs against this elite Dodgers' staff, so their path to victory has to come through their pitching. With so many other bats to worry about, Milwaukee can ill-afford to see Ohtani rediscover his swing.

They face long odds to win four of five and advance to the World Series regardless, but Ohtani being the Ohtani we've come to expect him to be would make it nearly impossible for the Brewers to save their season.