Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider has suggested his team may stop pitching to Shohei Ohtani for the remainder of the World Series after the Los Angeles Dodgers star’s extraordinary performance in Game 3. The Dodgers won 6-5 in 18 innings on Monday, with Ohtani hitting two doubles and two home runs in his first four at-bats before being walked repeatedly.
“He had a great game, he’s a great player, but I think after that, you just kind of take the bat out of his hands,” Schneider said after the game. Asked if walking Ohtani for the rest of the series would be the plan, he replied bluntly: “Yeah.”
The strategy was already evident in Game 3: after Ohtani’s game-tying homer in the seventh, Toronto intentionally walked him four times and once unintentionally. Ohtani became the first player to reach base nine times in a postseason game and the first with multiple home runs, doubles and walks in a single postseason contest.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the respect shown by the Blue Jays, saying “you just don’t see that type of behaviour from opposing managers.” However, the approach risks facing other stars: after Ohtani comes Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who ended Game 3 with a walk-off homer in the 18th.
“There’s certain times where I feel like you feel better about someone else beating you,” Schneider admitted. “If that someone else is Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman it still stings.” Game 4 sees Ohtani make his World Series pitching debut, though the Blue Jays began the game by pitching to him, with Shane Bieber throwing two strikes before issuing an unintentional walk.
