For the first time in Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers career, there is doubt surrounding the four-time MVP.

Ohtani will be in the lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, despite dealing with multiple injuries and in the midst of an offensive drought. His worst performance of the postseason came in NLCS Game 2, where he was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

But the Dodgers evidently still believe in Ohtani and so does a former pitcher.

Alex Wood, who retired from baseball in 2025, scoffed at the drama surrounding the possibility of Ohtani being benched for Wednesday’s game against the Brewers.

“All this Ohtani and being in the lineup nonsense lol. Bet he homers at least once tomorrow,” Wood wrote in a post on X.

Wood pitched for the Dodgers from 2015-2018 and returned for a second stint with the organization in 2020, where he became a World Series champion.

Though the left-hander was a Dodgers player before the Ohtani era in Los Angeles, Wood is evidently confident in Ohtani’s ability to bounce back when it matters most.

The Dodgers are on the brink of elimination with Milwaukee leading the NLCS two games to none.

Wood was apart of the Dodgers team that begun the championship dynasty at the start of the decade. Ohtani and other stars have been tasked with carrying the torch and are on a quest to complete the three-peat, but the fire is quickly dimming if the Dodgers can’t muster a win Wednesday.