What's fueling Mantiply's dominance over Ohtani?

This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert's Dbacks Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The D-backs and the Dodgers wrapped up their regular-season series on Monday, with Los Angeles taking three of four and claiming the season set with seven wins in 13 games.

Of course, as Arizona showed last year in sweeping L.A. in the National League Division Series, being bested by the Dodgers in the regular season doesn't necessarily mean doom and gloom should these two teams face off again in October. And if that happens, you can look for Joe Mantiply to be a key factor.

The lefty reliever has been able to do what few pitchers have done: get Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani out regularly.

Mantiply faced Ohtani three times in the most recent four-game set, retiring him in each of those plate appearances. In nine career at-bats against Mantiply, Ohtani has just one hit -- a double.

But don't think for a minute that Mantiply feels like he has the secret on how to get Ohtani out. In lefty-on-lefty matchups, Mantiply knows that the crossfire action he gets by stepping toward first base in his delivery can make it tough for the hitter.

"The feeling I get is the looks [lefties get] -- the way I throw and stuff -- it’s probably pretty deceptive," Mantiply said. "Obviously, [Ohtani] is one of the best hitters in the game, if not arguably the best. Usually, my approach is just [to] focus on the execution. He has the ability to hit any pitch out of the park, or hit it hard somewhere, so I’m just trying to play the chess match of keep him guessing, keep him in swing mode, don’t give him too many chances to reset.

"Fortunately, it’s gone my way. But this game, it can flip really quick, I’m sure. The more you see somebody, the better you’ve got to be. Fortunately, I’ve been able to get him out a few times. I’m just going to try to keep rolling with that."

The D-backs have used Mantiply as an opener in two games against the Dodgers this year as a way to get left-on-left matchups against Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the first inning. Whether they would try that again in the postseason remains to be seen, but Mantiply is working on staying prepared.

"I feel like in the big spots, I haven’t necessarily made many mistakes," Mantiply said. "When I get my shot, [I'm trying to take] a chance to get him to swing at something out of the zone. That’s kind of the goal.

"When I have to come in the zone, [I] try to put it in a spot where I can limit the hard contact and really just try to keep it in the yard. Even if he hits a single, it’s kind of a win. Just try to keep him in the yard, keep him off second, is kind of the goal. And try not to give him the same look every time."

The more times a hitter faces a pitcher, the better their chances of getting a hit. That's why Mantiply doesn't sequence his pitches the same way every time he faces Ohtani.

"I feel like I’ve done pretty well at changing the sequencing and kind of mixing stuff up," Mantiply said. "Just try not to give him the same look too many times. A hitter like that, the more he sees you, the better chance he has to hurt you."