“If Ohtani gets hurt and makes it 15 pitchers on the IL, the season’s over. So for me, the risk and reward are not there.” Back in July, Alex Rodriguez expressed concern about the risk to Shohei Ohtani’s pitching. He also asked if the Dodgers could afford the impact on his bat. And first, looking forward to the present, it seems like Rodriguez’s concern is coming to fruition.

No, Ohtani is not injured, but check his recent offensive slump in the postseason and you’ll get to know why the Dodgers are struggling at the batter’s box. Notably, his struggles continued on Wednesday night.

He went 0-for-5 in the Dodgers’ 8-2 loss to the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLDS. He’s now just 1-for-14 with seven strikeouts in the series. So yes, a far cry from the kind of performance fans expect from him.

And what’s more is that MLB analyst Clint Pasillas has voiced serious concern over Ohtani’s slump…

“You don’t expect Page to be Freddie Freeman or Mookie Bets or Ohtani, or you know, the big gun, the Aaron Judges of the World, or Jose Ramirez, who pick your poison on any team? Yeah, Ohtani needs to do more. I mean, if we’re going to appoint him as the second coming on both sides of the ball, then he needs to show up on both sides of the ball.” Pasillas shared his concern in a recent podcast with Dodgers Territory.

Well, in the postseason, Shohei Ohtani just hasn’t looked like the same player who crushed 55 HRs and scored 146 runs during the regular season. Right now, he’s batting just .160 with 2 HRs and 5RBIs, and his postseason ERA sits at 4.50.

Hence, as Pasillas pointed out, Ohtani hasn’t been exceptional on either side of the ball. Still, he remains the Dodgers’ main attraction, and he’s expected to lead the charge. But with numbers like these, he’s fallen well short of expectations. While he’s helped set the tone on the mound, his bat has been missing in action, and if the Dodgers want to close out the series in Game 4 on Thursday, they’ll need their two-way star to start hitting like himself again.

The Dodgers’ pitching is on the verge of meltdown

It’s not only Ohtani’s offensive slump that is concerning, but also how the Dodgers’ pitching lineup performed in Game 3 of the NLDS.

Notably, Kyle Schwarber’s two-run blast turned Wednesday’s NLDS Game 3 into a runaway for the Phillies. And Clayton Kershaw saw a two-run gap quickly balloon into five. And if you are not aware, it was one of the roughest outings of the veteran lefty’s storied career, possibly his last appearance at Dodger Stadium. At the end of the night, he gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks over just two innings in the 8-2 loss.

Then there’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers’ most reliable starter all season looked dominant early but unraveled in the fourth. Schwarber launched a towering homer before Rob Thomson’s club tacked on two more runs to break the game open.

Hence, heading into Game 4, manager Dave Roberts will need to get his pitching staff in order. The Phillies’ offense, powered by Schwarber, is red-hot, and the Dodgers’ arms are running thin at the worst possible time.