Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts "have to outslug Padres" to win Game 3 as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty roughed up in Games 1 & 2, says Twins insider

On Tuesday, MLB insiders Chris Rose and Trevor Plouffe talked about the responsibility on Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts' shoulders for the LA Dodgers in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres. The series is currently tied 1-1 after the Padres won Game 2 on Sunday.

In their resounding 10-2 victory, the visitors got to Dodgers' starter Jack Flaherty, who has otherwise been solid since he arrived from the Detroit Tigers in July. In 5.1 innings, Flaherty gave up four earned runs and struck out only two batters. Similarly, Yoshinobu Yamamoto went only three innings but gave up five runs in his time on the mound in the series opener.

On Tuesday's edition of "Baseball Today," Plouffe talked about how the Dodgers superstars will need to show up big time in the upcoming games of the series if they want to advance to the NLCS.

"[21:41] If you're a Dodgers fan, you really just have to hope that your offense can slug it out and go toe to toe with their (Padres) offense," Plouffe said. "We've seen Jack Flaherty get roughed up, we've seen Yoshinobu Yamamoto get roughed up."

"[21:57] They (Dodgers) are gonna have to outslug the Padres. Shohei Ohtani is going to have to put them on his freaking back, Mookie Betts as well. Freddie Freeman's probably not going to be in the lineup [due to injury]."

Shohei Ohtani has been swinging a hot bat against the Padres this season

After the Padres' win on Sunday, the series heads back to Petco Park, where they have been strong all season. With superstar Freddie Freeman expected to miss the game due to injury, the Dodgers need Shohei Ohtani to have a good day at the plate more than ever.

Ohtani has been successful in prior games this season against the Padres. In Game 1, he hit an important three-run home run to lead his team to a 7-5 victory. In 12 games against the Padres in the regular season, Shohei Ohtani batted .326 with 15 hits, one home run and seven RBIs.

Dodgers fans will be hoping that their superstar can keep up that level of production and keep up with the Padres' red-hot offense. The two teams will face off again on Tuesday and will battle it out to take the lead in the series.