After the Los Angeles announced their starting lineup for Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, many in the baseball world wondered why superstar Shohei Ohtani would not play in either game.
Blake Snell is scheduled to pitch in Game 1 on Monday, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to pitch in Game 2, but there is also the question of when right-hander Tyler Glasnow will start in an NLCS game.
Manager Dave Roberts said he has already decided when Glasnow and Ohtani will pitch during this series, but declined to make an announcement before Monday’s series start.
More news: Blake Snell says the are the best team in terms of chemistry and energy he’s contributed to in his MLB career
Glasnow’s last start this postseason was in Game 4 of the NLDS, a shutout that ultimately advanced the to the next round. In six scoreless innings, he had eight strikeouts and allowed only two hits.
During Game 1 of the NLDS, Glasnow came out of the bullpen and pitched 1.2 scoreless frames as Los Angeles won 5–3.
Ohtani hasn’t had much success this postseason, but he still got off to a solid start en route to winning Game 2 of the NLDS. The three-time MVP allowed three earned runs in two innings, but had nine strikeouts and allowed just one walk in six innings.
On the offensive side, Ohtani struggled with just one hit and an RBI in 18 at bats in the NLDS game in October of this year. Roberts assured the media that Ohtani’s not starting in Milwaukee has nothing to do with his struggles in the batter’s box.
“No, not at all. I think it’s a bit of a no-brainer that Shohei was going to pitch one game in this series. I mean, it’s one game, and there are two others who could potentially pitch on regular rest. So how do you get the best pitcher to pitch the most innings in a potential seven-game series?”
“So I expect Shohei to do something different offensively this series,” Roberts said. “But yeah, pushing him back had nothing to do with the offensive performance.”
More news: lineup for Game 1 of NLCS vs. Brewers: Quique Hernandez starts, Will Smith starts.
Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Have you downloaded the new Nation app yet? Click here for Apple users and Click here for Android users It’s part of a redesigned app that gives fans everything they need in one placee. Don’t miss it Live GameCast with play-by-play, news and analysis, Nation podcasts and videos, all the stats you need, and more.