The Dodgers balance Shohei Ohtani's pitching and hitting roles; starting rotation order for the National League Championship Series remains undecided.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have advanced smoothly to the National League Championship Series, but the team is currently weighing how to handle two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s pitching and hitting roles, with the ultimate starting rotation order still undecided.

During the first two rounds of the playoffs, Ohtani managed just 4 hits in 27 at-bats; despite including two home runs and 5 RBIs, his batting average of .148 shows his hitting has yet to fully recover.

Nevertheless, Ohtani remains a presence opponents cannot overlook. In the seventh inning of Game 4 of the NL Division Series with two outs and runners on second and third, the Phillies intentionally walked him. The pitcher then walked Mookie Betts, allowing the Dodgers to score. Ultimately, the Phillies committed a bases-loaded error in the 11th inning, leading to a walk-off comeback by the Dodgers.

On the mound, Ohtani started Game 1 of the Division Series, pitching six innings and allowing three runs to earn his first playoff win, demonstrating reliable starting pitching performance.

According to the schedule, Game 1 of the NL Championship Series will take place next Tuesday (October 14, Beijing time), with Game 2 on Wednesday (October 15). The Dodgers currently favor Blake Snell starting the opener, Ohtani pitching in Game 2, followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow for Games 3 and 4 respectively.

The key to this plan is that after Game 2, the team has a travel day off, giving Ohtani extra rest and recovery time after pitching. Data shows that this season (including playoffs), when Ohtani bats the day after pitching, he has only 5 hits in 34 at-bats, a .147 average; but when the team or he himself rests the following day, he has 8 hits in 28 at-bats, raising his average to .286.

If Ohtani pitches in Game 2, he could also appear again in Game 6, effectively returning to the mound after five days of rest. Since resuming pitching duties in June, his first two starts were spaced five days apart, though with fewer innings pitched; as the season progressed, his rest between starts has been at least six days.

A consequence of this rotation is that if the series goes to a Game 7, Yoshinobu Yamamoto might have to start on only four days’ rest. Since joining the Dodgers in 2024, he has never started a game with such a short rest period, making this an important point to watch in the series.