Shohei Ohtani Returns to Leadoff Spot in Lineup as Dodgers Face Elimination vs. Brewers in Game 4

Shohei Ohtani will be batting first when the Los Angeles Dodgers play Thursday night with their postseason on the line.

Ohtani is back in the leadoff spot for Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, according to the pregame lineup submitted by the Dodgers.

The Brewers are sticking with Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang and William Contreras at the top of the order while looking to win an NL pennant.

Mookie Betts batted first for the Dodgers in the first three games of the NLCS, during which the Brewers went 3-0 to put the two-time reigning champions on the brink of elimination.

The Dodgers' must-win Game 4 is set to start at 8 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.

Ohtani batted cleanup through the first two games of the NLCS and dropped to sixth in the lineup for Game 3.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters he hadn't informed Ohtani he would be leading off Game 4 but instead "just posted the lineup."

"Just seeing the work the last couple of days, I like where he is head is at," Roberts said. "I liked the at-bats yesterday... obviously we haven't performed the way we are capable of, so kind of shake it up a little bit, but something that's of somewhat normalcy that our guys are used to."

Roberts continued, "I think that the work, being here til 9 o'clock two nights ago working, the at-bats yesterday— for me, baking all that in, I felt absolutely, put him at the top. I feel good about him taking five at-bats and giving us our best chance to win."

Ohtani has not been a regular at the top of the batting order since Sept. 2, the day before he revealed he was dealing with a right biceps issue in addition to a lingering left knee problem.

Those injuries have kept Ohtani from pitching since early July and contributed to limiting him to a .182 batting average with no home runs or RBIs in seven postseason games.

Roberts told The Athletic's Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal he planned to have a conversation with Ohtani about potentially benching him for Game 3 of the NLCS.

Woo and Rosenthal reported at the time that rookie Josue De Paula was the top candidate to replace Ohtani should he be pulled from the lineup.

Ohtani ultimately stayed in the lineup Wednesday to record a hit and a walk in two at-bats during the Dodgers' 6-2 loss.

He will start out Thursday's game facing left-hander Shane Drohan, who will make his postseason debut when starting for the Brewers.

Chad Patrick and Kyle Harrison, who also have yet to pitch for Milwaukee this postseason, could also see time on the mound as the Brewers look to advance to the World Series with a win.