Shohei Ohtani admitted he won’t be at full strength when he bats for the Dodgers in the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, which begins Saturday in Los Angeles.

The four-time Most Valuable Player had a stint on the 15-day injured list in September due to right biceps and left knee issues that are still troubling him. He returned to go 5-for-21 (.238) with one extra-base hit, a double, and one RBI in the final five regular-season games.

Speaking about his health, Ohtani said Friday through an interpreter, “I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this. I think that process is going to happen during the offseason when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”

The two-way star previously was ruled out from any possible pitching work in the postseason — and he hasn’t taken the mound since July 3.

“During the IL (stint), I pretty much knew I wasn’t going to pitch the rest of the season,” Ohtani said. “So I did focus on just the hitting aspect of the game and coming to understanding and wanting to execute and try new things when I came back. So, those were the things that I really took the IL time to think through what I wanted to try when I was back in action.”

Ohtani saw his offense fall off late in the season. In his final 18 games as the designated hitter, he went 11-for-70 (.157) with no homers and one RBI.

Still, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Shohei’s not 100%, but he’s going to be in the lineup. … I think that most players that are performing now are not 100%. Obviously with Shohei, it’s a bigger deal because of the player, but there’s a lot of players that are not 100%, and they’ve just got to manage it. …

“I know that once the lights turn on, the postseason starts, the focus will be heightened. I expect good things. I really do. We just haven’t seen it enough … for me to forecast it.”

Overall on the season, Ohtani batted .275 with a .377 on-base percentage, a .512 slugging percentage, 30 homers and 81 RBIs in 139 games. In his abbreviated pitching campaign, he went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA, 95 strikeouts and 26 walks in 85 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers will turn to hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski to slow down the surging San Diego Padres on Saturday in the opener of the National League Division Series.

Misiorowski (16-5, 1.80 ERA), considered the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, will be opposed by veteran left-hander Robbie Ray (13-8, 3.59 ERA) to start the best-of-five matchup between the team with the best regular-season record and the hottest team down the stretch.

San Diego won 17 of its final 20 regular-season games and then swept the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round. The Padres also swept the Brewers in a three-game series in August, although they did not face Misiorowski.

“They’re playing so well and they’re super talented — a super talented, confident team right now with, we all know, the best bullpen in baseball, with some real megastars in the lineup,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday. “And they’re rolling. But that’s what you’re going to face at this time of year.”

The consistent Brewers, who won a franchise-record 103 games, were the first team in history to win 100 games in a season without a winning streak longer than five.

“We didn’t have the big streaks this year,” Murphy said. “I think that speaks even more to the group in there, how much they responded, how much they bounced back.”

Misiorowski, who routinely tops 100 mph with his fastball, had the lowest ERA in the majors and led the majors with 252 strikeouts in 174 2/3 innings. He held opponents to a .157 batting average, also best in the majors.

The 24-year-old right-hander was 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three postseason appearances last season as a rookie.

Misiorowski faced the Padres for the first time in May, allowing four hits and fanning 10 over seven scoreless innings, but did not get a decision when San Diego rallied with three in the ninth for a 3-1 victory.

“He was a tough task that day. He’s going to be a tough task tomorrow also,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said Friday. “So, although it’s better when we’re feeling good, that doesn’t change once you get in the batter’s box and you’re facing a guy like him. It’s going to be tough.”

Milwaukee was last in the NL with 154 homers and next-to-last in the majors, only ahead of Toronto’s 152. But the Brewers had the largest run differential in the majors at plus-214 and tied for the highest team batting average at .258.

Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz, who has been hampered by abdomen and knee injuries, is expected to be available Saturday, Murphy said.

Ray was 3-2 with a 5.02 ERA in nine starts with the Padres after being acquired from San Francisco at the trade deadline.

“Just trust his veteran presence, experience pitching in the playoffs,” Stammen said. “I think he’s going to do well against this lineup. As far as how far he goes or how long, he’ll determine a lot of that, how well he pitches.”

Ray is 3-1 with a 2.82 ERA in seven career starts against Milwaukee. Ray is 0-3 with a 7.43 ERA in six career postseason games, including two starts.

“I have to stick to my game plan and kind of be willing to adapt as well,” Ray said Friday. “I think especially with the hitters that they have, they’re really good at putting the ball in play. For me, it’s just relying on my defense and just pitching my best game.”

Mason Miller, who tied for the NL lead with 38 saves in 41 opportunities, along with one save in the wild-card series, anchors the bullpen. The hard-throwing right-hander had a 1.67 ERA with 129 strikeouts in 70 innings.

–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media

LOS ANGELES — The potential road to history for the Los Angeles Dodgers begins with a reunion as the National League Division Series starts Saturday afternoon with a visit from the Atlanta Braves.

Freddie Freeman has been a major postseason contributor during the Dodgers’ consecutive World Series titles, and the veteran will be in the heart of the order again in a matchup against his former team.

Freeman also was invaluable in the 2021 World Series when the Braves won their most recent title. Freeman joined the Dodgers as a free agent in 2022 after Atlanta moved on to Matt Olson as their first baseman.

While Freeman has won three rings in five seasons, the Dodgers are trying to become the first National League club to win championships in three consecutive years. Only two American League franchises have ever done it: the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics.

The Yankees were the last to accomplish the feat when they won championships in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

“We don’t need to be adding any extra pressure onto ourselves,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “We’ve been saying that for a long time. When you talk about three-peating, you’re putting that extra pressure on it that doesn’t need to be there. Winning a World Series is already hard enough as it is.”

After returning from a biceps injury during the final week of the regular season, Shohei Ohtani will be back atop the Los Angeles order when the club’s postseason run begins.

Left-hander Tarik Skubal was named the Dodgers’ Game 1 starter over right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Skubal arrived just before the trade deadline in a deal with the Detroit Tigers and went 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts for his new club.

Skubal is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in two career starts against Atlanta, including an outing in April when he gave up two runs over seven innings in a no-decision.

The Braves opened their postseason by getting past the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card round. Atlanta won a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday behind a three-run home run from Michael Harris II and a dominating day on the mound. Six pitchers kept Philadelphia in check, including staff ace Chris Sale, who recorded the final four outs.

The Braves face the Dodgers after going 5-1 against them in the regular season, including a three-game home sweep in late August.

“Everyone knows the Dodgers have a juggernaut, but we played well against them this year,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “I know that doesn’t carry a whole lot of stock. Once the playoffs begin, everybody starts at zero. The Dodgers are healthier now than they were when we saw them.”

Weiss has yet to name his Game 1 starter, with a left-handed opener a possibility to line up against early left-handed bats like Ohtani and Freeman.

The Braves will continue to be without a pair of starters in right-hander Bryce Elder (knee) and left-hander Martin Perez (back).

Like Freeman before him, Olson has emerged as a Braves leader, along with Ronald Acuna Jr. Olson hit a team-best 41 home runs in the regular season and added another in the wild-card round. Harris hit 26 home runs in the regular season and Acuna added 20 homers and 21 steals.

“I think it’s just kind of going out there and playing our game and knowing that … we can compete with them and beat them,” said Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, an All-Star and 2025 NL Rookie of the Year who contributed 25 home runs.

–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media

The Tampa Bay Rays clinched the American League East title and home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs with a resounding victory at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 22.

Drew Rasmussen put together a dominant effort that night and would love to do so again on Saturday when the Rays host the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the AL Division Series in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Rasmussen (16-5, 2.67 ERA, AL-leading 0.91 WHIP this season) allowed his only hit in the seventh inning and struck out 11 in the Rays’ 6-1 romp over the Yankees that night. The two-time All-Star right-hander hasn’t pitched since that night.

Rasmussen has dominated the Yankees in three of four meetings this season. He yielded one hit over six scoreless innings in a 5-4 victory on April 12 and scattered five hits over seven runless frames in a no-decision on May 24. New York solved Rasmussen on July 9, however, collecting six runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings on their way to a 12-4 shellacking of Tampa Bay.

“Obviously, a team we play a lot. (A) team that neither side really has a whole lot of secrets,” Rasmussen said Friday. “I mean, shoot, I feel like every time we play them, it’s a tight game, it’s a dogfight. I’d say that’s probably what should be expected.”

Ben Rice belted a two-run homer off Rasmussen in the third inning in that July 9 game and added a three-run shot three innings later. He went 16-for-45 (.356) with seven home runs, three doubles and 12 RBIs against the Rays this season.

Rasmussen, 31, is 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Yankees.

In addition to Rasmussen’s impressive numbers, the Rays boast a 55-26 record at home this season, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for best in the majors during the regular season.

Rasmussen will face a New York team that put up some stellar numbers of its own in dismissing the rival Boston Red Sox in the wild-card series. The Yankees outscored the Sox 18-2 and outhit them 26-7 en route to a convincing two-game sweep.

Three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge (right calf strain) was left off the Yankees’ roster in that series. New York manager Aaron Boone wasn’t ready to make the call on his slugger’s availability for the ALDS on Friday afternoon.

“We’ll see. He’ll be working out (Friday). He hit again live (Thursday) at Yankee Stadium. He’s doing more today, I think, over at (George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa) and here,” Boone said. “We’ll make those calls probably later (Friday night).”

After dominating starts by Cam Schlittler and Max Fried in the wild-card round, New York right-hander Gerrit Cole (10-9, 3.61) will bid to follow suit when he takes the mound Saturday.

Cole last pitched on Sept. 23 against the Rays, permitting two runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 9-2 victory.

The 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner also pitched well in his two other starts versus Tampa Bay this season. He yielded two hits over six scoreless innings in a no-decision on May 22, in his first start since his return from Tommy John surgery. He was saddled with the loss on July 8 while allowing three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.

“Certainly, (Tropicana Field) plays a different kind of way. I think it sets up well for Gerrit,” Boone said. “… It was more just we like him here. I feel like he’s always thrown the ball really well here. Not that that’s everything. But I’m excited to give the ball to Gerrit Cole in a Game 1 scenario.”

Cole, 36, is 6-8 with a 3.33 ERA in 23 career appearances (all starts) versus the Rays.

The Rays defeated the Yankees in seven of their 13 meetings during the regular season. Tampa Bay also toppled New York in the teams’ lone encounter in the playoffs, in the 2020 ALDS.

–Field Level Media