NEW YORK —
Sometimes, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, all it takes one bad matchup, or one crafty pitcher, for a hitter to “trigger bad habits” in their swing.
In the case of Shohei Ohtani, and his struggles over the last several games of the Dodgers’ postseason, the culprit appears to have been San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish.
In six at-bats against Darvish during last week’s National League Division Series, Ohtani went hitless, striking out three times while looking atypically mortal after his superhuman regular season.
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In Game 5 of the NLDS, Ohtani seemed particularly uncomfortable against Darvish in the box.