Pitcher Ohtani is using it! Starting Game 4 of the NLCS → Waiting for the bullpen in Game 7 Will you see another WBC victory save?

Oct 15, 2025

Pitcher Ohtani is using it! Starting Game 4 of the NLCS → Waiting for the bullpen in Game 7 Will you see another WBC victory save?
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani will start Game 4 of the NLCS. In Game 7, we will wait for the dispenser. AP Yonhap News



Pitcher Ohtani is using it! Starting Game 4 of the NLCS → Waiting for the bullpen in Game 7 Will you see another WBC victory save?
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani applauds during team training at American Family Field on the 13th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani's starting schedule for the National League Championship Series (NLCS) has been confirmed. Game 7 will be on standby in the bullpen.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in an interview with local reporters at American Family Field ahead of Game 2 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers on the 15th (Korea Standard Time), `When I return home, Tyler will play Game 3 and Shohei will play Game 4. Blake will be in charge of Game 5."

Milwaukee has a home field advantage in this NLCS, so the Dodgers will host Games 3, 4, and 5 at Dodger Stadium from the 17th to the 19th. Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell will start in the order of three consecutive home games.




Attention is bound to be paid to the order in which Ohtani takes the mound. Originally, Ohtani was scheduled to start Game 5 of the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. However, as the series ended with the Dodgers' 3-1 loss in Game 4, Ohtani seemed likely to naturally play in the first game of the NLCS.

Pitcher Ohtani is using it! Starting Game 4 of the NLCS → Waiting for the bullpen in Game 7 Will you see another WBC victory save?
Tyler Glasnow has been named the NLCS Game 3 starter. ImagesYonhap News
Pitcher Ohtani is using it! Starting Game 4 of the NLCS → Waiting for the bullpen in Game 7 Will you see another WBC victory save?
Tani Shohei raises his right hand and sends a signal while warming up the catch ball. AP Yonhap News
However, Roberts left the first game to Snell and the second game to Yamamoto Yoshinobu. And on that day, he announced the selection of Game 3 and 4. However, the reason Ohtani was pushed behind Glassnow is that it is a paving stone for Game 7.

The Dodgers, who have confirmed their starters to Snell in Game 5 and Yamamoto in Game 6, plan to send Glasnow as a starter if they go to Game 7. If Ohtani starts Game 3, it is difficult to take the mound in Game 7 because he has only four days off.




Roberts said, `If we have to play Game 7, we have Ohtani in mind to wait in the bullpen. If Tyler takes the mound today, he can play in Game 7 after a normal four-day break. All of this makes sense, he explained.

In other words, Ohtani will have to wait in the bullpen for Game 7, which could be held at American Family Field on the 22nd after taking three days off after starting the fourth game.

In other words, he can start as a designated hitter for leadoff, move to the bullpen later in the game, warm up, and then take the mound depending on the situation. It is a similar case to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final against the U.S. in March 2023. At that time, Ohtani started as the third designated hitter, played four at-bats, took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead, allowing one walk and one strikeout to secure Japan's victory.




Before taking the mound in the ninth inning, Ohtani hit in the bottom of the seventh inning and finished the inning, and moved to the bullpen during defense in the top of the eighth inning and began warming up. In other words, you can see such a scene in the 7th NLCS game.

Pitcher Ohtani is using it! Starting Game 4 of the NLCS → Waiting for the bullpen in Game 7 Will you see another WBC victory save?
Shohei Otani is out on a fly to right field in the top of the second inning of the NLCS second game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on the 15th (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News
Regarding the rotation run by the Dodgers in this postseason, MLB.com said, "'The Dodgers are weaving the four-man postseason rotation in a unique way because of the rest days Yamamoto and Ohtani are familiar with.' Ohtani could have started Game 1 or Game 2 of the NLCS, but then the Dodgers will have to play a bullpen game later in the series. This is because Ohtani cannot be given a four- to five-day break and sent off in Game 5 or Game 6. The trick to playing this NLCS with only four starting pitchers is for Ohtani to take the mound only once in the series.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.