Los Angeles Dodger superstar Shohei Ohtani has a chance to break his slump against Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Robert Gasser. But it won't come easy.
Analysts have claimed that Ohtani has never looked more “vulnerable” against left-handed pitching than he has in the last few days. While it's hard to bet against Ohtani, who could potentially snap out of it at any given moment and especially in front of a home crowd with his back against the wall in the postseason, it is hard to ignore some basic facts.
While the Dodgers decided against benching Ohtani after flirting with the idea, one potential theory behind why Game 3 could turn into a struggle is more than just his recent slump and potential injury concerns. There is another reason and it's plagued
him for most of his career.
As noted on MLB Network last postseason, he has particularly struggled against lefties with low arm slots like Gasser. Any pitch thrown between 20 and 40 degrees relative to the throwing arm is considered a low angle.
Just realized that Shohei Ohtani has to face Robert Gasser today who is a low arm slot lefty who he’s 0-7 against with 4Ks. Ohtani historically has struggled immensely when facing low arm angle guys from the left side. This would’ve been the perfect game to let him sit. He’s…
— Maxwell (@Maxwell1995Vjjo) October 14, 2026
Gasser has an average arm angle of 24.1 degrees during his MLB career and 23.6 degrees this season. Among the 50 left-handed pitchers who have thrown the most pitches this season, only seven had a lower average arm angle. His angle is closer to a low three-quarters slot.
Expect to see him rely on his sweeper when Ohtani is at the plate (via Brewer Fanatic):
"It starts with the sweeper. It's been Gasser’s most-used pitch throughout his major-league career, and it’s easy to understand why when you watch it come out of his hand. With his low arm angle and how far away from his body he lets the ball go, it looks like a left-handed hitter is about to get decapitated by the pitch, before it suddenly moves away. It has a Stuff+ grade of 122, with 100 being league average. Moral of the story: It’s nasty.
That’s a big reason why Gasser has been throwing his sinker nearly 30% of the time against left-handed hitters. If a hitter is sitting on a pitch that starts at them and veers away, only to get something that starts over the plate and runs in on them, squaring it up becomes pretty much impossible. Those are the pitches in Gasser’s arsenal that hitters are struggling to handle the most."
The two-time World Series champion does not have a hit against Gasser during seven career plate appearances, striking out three times and whiffing on 45.5 percent of pitches. But it’s not just Gasser.
Ohtani is hitting .230 on pitches from lefties thrown below an arm angle of 25 degrees during his career. His on-base percentage of .284 and slugging percentage of .370 are not exactly much to write home about either.
Compare this to his slash line .276/.349/.557 on pitches thrown above 25 degrees by lefties and you will see just how much he has struggled against that type of pitcher.
Since he began his tenure with the Dodgers, among the 50 players who have seen the most pitches against left-handed pitchers with an average arm angle below 25 degrees, only seven have struck out more regularly (27.1 percent) than Ohtani.
Here is more from Keegan Matheson (via MLB.com):
"If you’re going to attack Ohtani with a lefty, your best bet is a lefty with a lower arm slot, creating more cross-body action moving away from Ohtani in the box."
Meanwhile, only three players have more total swing and miss whiffs on these types of pitches during that span.
Look at how Ohtani has performed against other low-angle lefty pitchers like Chris Sale, Trevor Rogers, or Nick Lodolo. It’s been fairly poor against virtually all of these opponents.
The Dodgers can still win even if Gasser is able to outperform Ohtani in this postseason matchup, but if the four-time MVP struggles again, it might not just be because of an injury or a slump. With another poor performance, it might make Ohtani wish he took the day to rest instead.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Shohei Ohtani's nightmare Brewers matchup might make him wish he was benched
