When is Shohei Ohtani playing next? All you need to know about Dodgers' next series vs Braves

Shohei Ohtani has captivated the baseball world with his incredible hitting this season. He's on the verge of becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 50-50 (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases) in a season. After Wednesday's game, against the Chicago Cubs, where he stole his 48th base and recorded his 47th home run of the season, Ohtani and his team have a big series to look forward to.

The LA Dodgers are observing a day off on Thursday before they go to Truist Park to play four four-game series against a potential postseason contender Atlanta Braves. The series starts on Friday as Ohtani resumes his historic run to reach 50-50 feat.

Ohtani needs three home runs and two stolen bases to get there. The chances of him doing so in this series look slim, but his current run of form makes one think otherwise.

The Braves will have right-handed pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach (5-7, 3.78 ERA) to start the game. The Dodgers are expected to go with righty Landon Knack (2-3, 3.00).

Shohei Ohtani receives strong support from Justin Verlander's brother for NL MVP

MLB: Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers - Source: Imagn

Despite putting up historic numbers, there's a chance Shohei Ohtani may miss out on the NL MVP award to New York Mets' shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Lindor had an incredible season, which included 31 home runs and 27 stolen bases. However, his elevation for the MVP award is due to what the shortstop brings to the field. Many analysts think Ohtani misses defensive attributes since he can't pitch due to injury and has purely hit as a designated hitter throughout the season.

Some also elaborated on the term "value," saying without Francisco Lindor, the Mets aren't getting to the postseason while the Dodgers can despite the absence of Shohei Ohtani. Hitting back at all those takes is Justin Verlander's brother Ben Verlander, who said:

"This is the conversation that pisses me off. Yeah, those are true statements, but we were saying the same thing when Ohtani was with the Angels. You take him off the Angels, they are not a playoff team. You take Aaron Judge off the Yankees they are not a playoff team... It's not Ohtani's fault that he has gone from a really bad team to a really good team."

While both sides of the conversation hold weight, if Shohei Ohtani reaches 50-50, it would be hard to not see him get the NL MVP award.