NEW YORK – Concerns seemed to vanish and Los Angeles Dodgers players wore smiles at Yankee Stadium as they prepared for Game 3 of the World Series: Shohei Ohtani was set to play Monday night despite a partially dislocated left shoulder.
Ohtani got hurt sliding into second base when he was caught stealing to end the seventh inning of Saturday night’s 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 2 at Los Angeles.
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Fans and teammates wondered whether Sho could go this week.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made Ohtani's presence atop the batting order sound close to a sure thing.
“I just don’t see him not playing Game 3,” Roberts said before Sunday night's workout. “If he feels good enough to go, then I see no reason why he wouldn’t be in there.”
Ohtani did not travel with the team to New York in order to undergo imaging. He was on a separate flight.
“As far as test results, we’ve got doctors scrambling everywhere. I don’t have them,” Roberts said. “This is more me going by the training staff, Shohei feeling good this morning, range of motion, strength.”
Ohtani was due to arrive at the ballpark in time for the workout, which started at 6 p.m. EDT. Roberts said Ohtani had taken dry swings since the injury and was going to hit off a tee and take batting practice in an indoor cage.
“That’s going to be telling,” the manager said. “He’s got to still go through the workout and swing the bat, but, again, today feels better than yesterday, and our assumption is tomorrow’s going to feel better than today.”
Roberts said the injury causes pain but “it's just everyone’s tolerance.”
“I don’t see him being compromised,” he added. “It’s the left shoulder, which is the back shoulder. So I don’t see how that affects his hitting, if he’s able to go.”
Seeking their eighth title and second in five years, the Dodgers lead 2-0 in the best-of-seven Series. Walker Buehler starts Game 3 for Los Angeles against Clarke Schmidt.
“If he is able to play, willing to play, he’s going to play,” Roberts said of Ohtani. “Schmidt will know that Shohei’s in the box, so that means everything.”
Ohtani clutched his left forearm after being tagged by shortstop Anthony Volpe for the final out in the seventh on a feetfirst slide. He laid near the bag for a couple of minutes before being tended to by athletic trainers and leaving the field.
The likely NL MVP was 0 for 3 with a walk in Game 2. He is 1 for 8 in the first two games of the Fall Classic and is batting .260 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his first postseason in the majors.
A two-time AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani joined the Dodgers last December for a record $700 million, 10-year contract.
The 30-year-old Ohtani hit .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases, becoming the first player with at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. The two-way star did not pitch this season while recovering from elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023, and has been limited to designated hitter.
“Any time you have probably the best baseball player in the world, I think it’s going to help and frees up some of the other guys to kind of play with a little less pressure or a little more freedom,” Buehler said. “He’s been awesome for the clubhouse and awesome for our team, so it’s been a cool year watching him with the 50-50, just kind of the day to day and the kind of human he is, as well."
Ohtani had been one of the few players on the Dodgers roster who got through the season without a major injury. Nearly every member of the starting rotation spent time on the injured list and the team led the majors in injured list placements with 36 and days on the injured list with 2,342.
Among the position players, Mookie Betts was out for nearly two months due to a broken left hand, and Max Muncy was out nearly half the season due to a right oblique strain. Freddie Freeman is playing in the postseason with a sprained right ankle.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb