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Milwaukee Brewers pitchers have effectively silenced Shohei Ohtani through the first two games of the National League Championship Series. The two-time reigning NL MVP has managed just one hit in seven at-bats, drawing a single walk and striking out three times.
Since returning from a 15-day injured list stint, Ohtani's power has been absent. Over the final five regular-season games and the NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, he has recorded only one extra-base hit and zero home runs. This is a stark contrast to his performance in Game 4 of last year's NLCS, when he launched three home runs against the Brewers.
Given Ohtani's prolonged slump, the Dodgers reportedly considered inserting rookie Josue De Paula into the Game 3 lineup in his place. On paper, the switch seemed logical. However, manager Dave Roberts announced on Tuesday that Ohtani will remain in the lineup for Game 3.
But is that the best decision for Los Angeles? Before the Brewers' workout at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, and prior to Roberts' announcement, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy admitted that preparing for De Paula is a unique challenge.
"This young kid, he's got incredible power, right?" Murphy said of De Paula. "His strike ball is really good. So you don't see that rookie come up with that ability to strike [the] ball. So what do you entice him with?"
De Paula has walked twice in three postseason plate appearances, including once in his only NLCS appearance. The Brewers are not alone in struggling to get the rookie to chase pitches. Since his debut in September, De Paula has walked in 13 of his 45 plate appearances while striking out only five times.
"How do you get ahead in the count?" Murphy said. "You've kind of got to decipher that and take into consideration his aggressiveness, knowing that he wants to make an impact on the game."
Murphy and Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell both referenced Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS as a lingering memory. They know what Ohtani is capable of at the plate. By limiting him to soft contact when he does make contact, the league has clearly mastered the book on how to pitch to this post-injury version of Ohtani. De Paula, who spent most of the season in the minor leagues, remains a relative mystery.
On Wednesday, De Paula will stay on the bench.
Key Analysis
The Brewers' success against Ohtani has come from a steady diet of pitches that induce weak contact. Ohtani's inability to drive the ball has made him a far less intimidating presence than in previous years. Meanwhile, De Paula's plate discipline and raw power present a different kind of problem for opposing pitchers. His ability to lay off borderline pitches and wait for his pitch has resulted in a high walk rate and low strikeout rate in his brief major-league stint. That combination makes him a dangerous unknown, one that Murphy and his staff would rather avoid if possible.