Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers ramp up their bid for back-to-back World Series crowns as Major League Baseball’s playoffs get under way on Tuesday.

The Dodgers, aiming to become the first team in 25 years to successfully recapture the MLB championship, open a best-of-three wild card series in Los Angeles against the Cincinnati Reds.

The big-spending defending champions, who defeated the New York Yankees in last year’s World Series, went into the regular season with most pundits predicting a stroll into the playoffs.

But the Californian franchise’s season has not gone entirely to plan.

Injuries, inconsistent form and a disastrous first season from newly recruited $72 million closer Tanner Scott have meant that the Dodgers will enter the playoffs as third seeds in the National

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