Dodgers weigh sitting a slumping Shohei Ohtani as they try to climb out of an 0-2 NLCS hole

The Los Angeles Dodgers are facing a question few teams ever ask: should Shohei Ohtani sit?

Down 0-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers say they will check in with their superstar about his health before Game 3 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Central.

A health call, not a benching

Manager Dave Roberts said after Monday's 7-4 loss in Milwaukee that he would have a conversation with Ohtani during Tuesday's workout in Los Angeles to figure out what is best for him.

The team has made clear it would only sit Ohtani if he feels limited by the left knee and right biceps problems that bothered him earlier. If he says he feels good, the plan is to keep playing him.

A deep slump

Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Game 2. He has three hits in 20 at-bats this postseason and has not homered since Aug. 18. Over the past eight weeks, a stretch that included a trip to the injured list, he is hitting .156.

"It's hard to see," shortstop Mookie Betts said. He added that Ohtani is putting in the work. "We need him for sure."

Third baseman Max Muncy said the clubhouse is still behind him. He predicted Ohtani is "going to get a big hit for us at some point" and that it will turn things around.

Bigger problems than one bat

The struggles go beyond Ohtani. Los Angeles is 2-for-26 with runners in scoring position this postseason. Milwaukee's bullpen retired the last 15 Dodgers in a row on Monday.

History is not on their side either. Thirty-six of the past 38 teams that fell behind 2-0 in a best-of-seven series without home-field advantage went on to lose. The last time the Dodgers dropped the first two games of a playoff series was 2023, when Arizona swept them.

Left-hander Blake Snell is expected to start Game 3 for Los Angeles against Milwaukee lefty Robert Gasser.