"My Belief in Him Has Never Wavered"…Roberts Starts Ohtani in NLCS Game 3 Despite .150 Postseason Average

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he will put Shohei Ohtani in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the NLCS. The decision came with Ohtani's postseason batting average at .150 and the series standing at 0-2.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Local time, October 13, Los Angeles. The Dodgers had already lost the first two games of the NLCS to the Milwaukee Brewers (as of 2026.10.15, 03:00). In a report from AP carried by Sportsnet, Dave Roberts said at a press conference that day that he would put Shohei Ohtani in the starting lineup for Game 3. He reached this decision after weighing whether to give Ohtani a rest. In Korean time, it was the 14th.

Basis for Ohtani's NLCS Game 3 Start: Swing Improvements and Willingness to Play

Roberts based his decision not on the stats but on the player's own conviction. According to the AP report, Ohtani told Roberts in a meeting that he had found ways to improve his swing mechanics. He also conveyed confidence that he could help the team. Roberts accepted this explanation and decided not to remove him from the lineup. An MLB official video the next day also conveyed the same position on his participation in Game 3.

In chronological order: After the Dodgers lost Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS in a row, they considered resting Ohtani. At the local press conference on the 13th, the plan to start him in Game 3 was announced. A follow-up Yahoo Sports report, posted as of 00:00 UTC on the 14th, added that resting him had been considered. According to the official MLB schedule, Game 3 starts at 9:00 a.m. on the 15th in Korean time.

Ohtani Postseason: .150 Average, No Home Runs in 6 Games, OPS .411

Ohtani's postseason numbers are a .150 batting average (as of 2026.10.15, 03:00, before Game 3). In 6 games and 20 at-bats, he has only 3 hits. He has no home runs and no RBIs. His OPS (on-base plus slugging, a measure of a hitter's overall production) stood at .411. AP and OSEN both presented this figure as the starting point of the lineup controversy.

Forbes 2026 MLB Player Projected Total Earnings Ranking (estimates including endorsement income; revised as of 2026.08.18)

Rank	Player	Team	Projected total earnings (USD)
1	Shohei Ohtani	LA Dodgers	127 million
2	Cody Bellinger	New York Yankees	56.5 million
3	Kyle Tucker	LA Dodgers	56 million
4	Juan Soto	New York Mets	51.9 million
5	Aaron Judge	New York Yankees	46.1 million

Ohtani's estimated total earnings are about 2.2 times those of No. 2 Bellinger (127 million ÷ 56.5 million). This table is not a ranking of contract totals and differs from net worth.

Why Roberts Considered Rest: Recovery, Not Punishment; 16 Questions Tallied

Some reports summarized this as a review of benching him due to a slump. The version relayed by Yahoo Sports differs. It says the rest was meant to reset his physical condition and hitting, not as a disciplinary exclusion. In remarks Yahoo Sports relayed on the 14th in Korean time, Roberts said, "My belief in him has never once wavered."

The figure that "16 of the 21 total questions were about Ohtani" Money Today, which carried the OSEN article, is the source. Dividing 16 by 21 gives about 76%. However, an independent tally checked against the full press conference transcript has not been confirmed. The Chosun Biz article is also based on the same OSEN text, so it is hard to treat it as a separate source.

Cornered at 0 wins and 2 losses, the Dodgers chose the player's conviction over rest. Roberts, describing the outcome of his meeting on the local 13th, said: "He has firmly made clear that he can help us."

Related Official Sites

LA Dodgers official website — team announcements and schedule
MLB official postseason schedule and bracket — results and bracket after NLCS Game 3
MLB official player stats for Ohtani — batting stats by postseason game
MLB official profile of Dave Roberts — playing career and background

Cover image · archival photo · not a photo of the current game in the article · photo composite · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (ewen and donabel), CC BY 2.0 · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Mogami Kariya), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo: Flickr (LGEPR), CC BY 2.0