LOS ANGELES — Don’t expect the Cincinnati Reds to pitch around Shohei Ohtani in Game 2 of their wild-card series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Manager Terry Francona has too much respect for the former league MVPs who bat second and third in the Dodgers’ lineup.
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Asked before Wednesday’s game if he’d consider intentionally walking Ohtani, Francona scoffed and said, “You’re kidding, right? Have you heard of Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman?”
Francona described Ohtani as “a really dangerous hitter” but also pointed out that the two-way star struck out 187 times during the regular season, third-most in the National League.
“That’s where we have to get to,” Francona said. “You start walking people in that lineup, and you’re asking for trouble.”
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The Reds attacked Ohtani in their 10-5 Game 1 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday — and while the superstar struck out three times, he also made them pay with a pair of home runs.
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He opened the bottom of the first inning by turning on a 100-mph inside fastball from Reds fireballer Hunter Greene and rocketing a screaming line drive over the right-field wall. Then in the sixth inning, with chants of M-V-P raining down from the upper deck, Ohtani blasted a 454-foot moon shot high into the right-center-field bleachers.
Ohtani piled up 55 home runs and 102 RBI during another MVP-caliber regular season, but even so, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts raved Tuesday about Ohtani’s ability to raise his level in the postseason.
“His focus gets more keen, and the at-bat quality is better,” Roberts said. “That’s a reason why he signed to be with this ball club, this organization, to play in games like this, to showcase his otherworldly talent. I expect really fun things this postseason out of Shohei.”
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Before the wild-card series began, Francona also spoke glowingly of Ohtani, calling him a “generational player.”
“You don’t want to let him get those arms extended,” he said Monday. “You make a mistake, and it goes a long way, a long way.”
But as much respect as Francona has for Ohtani, he won’t give the Dodgers’ slugger the Barry Bonds treatment.
Said Francona on Wednesday: “I think it would be a very poor decision.”
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