houstonchronicle
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the success of Shohei Ohtani upon his return from injury isn't measured by gaudy statistics in October. Simply having the two-way phenom healthy and batting leadoff for the defending World Series champions would satisfy Roberts, who intends to keep a close eye on Ohtani's workload to make that a reality.
The Dodgers will enjoy a five-day break during the wild-card round while waiting for their first playoff opponent, giving Ohtani time to ramp up with baseball activities like simulated at-bats and plenty of rest. Roberts has faith in Ohtani — a four-time MVP, including in each of his first two seasons with the Dodgers — to handle his own workload, so daily check-ins aren't part of the plan. Instead, Roberts will occasionally inquire about how the Japanese superstar is feeling physically, leaving most of that communication to Ohtani and the training staff.
"We need him to be full strength and also do what he does, take good at-bats, take what they give you, if they're going to pitch around you to pitch to Mookie (Betts), so be it," Roberts said. "And if they make mistakes, then hit it hard. We need him to be healthy and strong. It certainly helps our offense."
Ohtani played his third straight game on Friday night as the Dodgers opened a season-ending series at San Francisco, having returned Wednesday against San Diego after a 13-game stint on the injured list with right biceps discomfort. He went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the Dodgers' 2-0 win, leaving his batting average at .276 with 30 home runs and 81 RBIs. On the mound, Ohtani posted an 8-2 record and a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts, but he will not pitch again this year due to his injuries. Consequently, he won't have the chance to replicate last season's extraordinary individual effort, when he pitched six scoreless innings and homered three times in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series against Milwaukee.
Roberts believes that getting Ohtani into the lineup for five consecutive games to close the regular season, totaling 20 to 23 at-bats, will be sufficient for him to be postseason-ready. "I think that'll be great," Roberts said, noting his satisfaction with the slugger's return so far. "He looked the way I would have hoped. I was hoping he would look like this. I said it yesterday, it's been very encouraging to see his at-bats and the swings."
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Originally reported by houstonchronicle.