NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani wasn't on the team bus from Dodger Stadium to Los Angeles International Airport because he was getting tests Saturday night after partially separating his left shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series.
So the Japanese star reached out in a group chat with fellow Dodgers players to erase any doubts over his status.
“The text just like literally said: `I can play,'” infielder Max Muncy recalled Monday. “I mean, there was more to it than that.”
True to his word, Ohtani remained in the lineup in his regular leadoff slot as the designated hitter for Game 3 of the World Series. He walked leading off the game and scored on Freddie Freeman's two-run homer, starting the Dodgers to a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees and a 3-0 World Series lead.
Ohtani was 0 for 3 with a walk and was hit by a pitch, looking uncomfortable as he winced and grimaced while swinging.
“Balls that were away that he chased a little bit, I saw a couple winces,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Ohtani dropped to 1 for 11 with no RBIs in Series.
“If it was more of the right shoulder, then I think it would have impacted my swing,” he said through an interpreter. “Thankfully, it was my left, so I don’t think it really did.”
He was the only Dodgers starter wearing a warmup jacket during pregame introductions and high-fived teammates with his right hand. A black wrapping was visible over his left shoulder, which Ohtani said was there to help keep his shoulder warm.
He didn't swing in his first plate appearance, taking four balls from Clarke Schmidt. Ohtani kept his left arm at an angle over his chest while at first base, hand holding his collar, and held it there while rounding the bases on Freeman's homer.
Ohtani grounded out in the third and held the hand to his chest as he jogged back to the dugout. He struck out in the fourth and fouled out in the seventh.
"The reason why I was holding on to myself when I was running is to make sure that I wouldn’t use that same shoulder arm if I were to slide," he said.
Ohtani said he isn't sure whether he will need offseason surgery.
“I haven’t had further conversations about the future plan,” he explained. “I think it’s something that’s going to happen after the season is over, do additional testing. But in terms of how I feel now, I don’t think so.”
Muncy said Ohtani wrote the Saturday night text himself in English without assistance from interpreter Will Ireton.
“We all said: `All right, he’s got us. We'll be ready for him to be in the lineup,'” Muncy recalled.
Roberts didn't get the text message — “that group chat is for us — that’s for the players,” Muncy said — and wasn't aware of it until Monday.
“Would have been helpful if I was on that thread. I would have slept better Saturday night," the manager said with a smile.
Ohtani got hurt sliding into second base when he was caught stealing to end the seventh inning of the 4-2 win in Game 2. Roberts said Ohtani's shoulder was popped back into place by the athletic training staff at the ballpark and an MRI showed no structural damage.
“I was really concerned about whether I was safe or out,” Ohtani said. “It was only when I went back inside where we had to figure out what it was.”
Asked whether Ohtani received medication, an injection or was being taped up, Roberts said “it's all of the above on the treatment and stuff. The tape is just protecting and stabilizing, not really limiting.”
Ohtani took swings off a tee in a Yankee Stadium batting cage Sunday night and was hitting balls 102 mph, which changed Roberts' mood to “joy.”
“He was very adamant that he was going to play,” Roberts said. “Obviously, there’s some discomfort.”
A separated shoulder is subject to recurrence. Roberts said he doubted Ohtani will attempt any more stolen bases during the Series.
Ohtani is batting .245 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his first MLB postseason. 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 slugger 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.
Now he is one win from the goal he set when he signed with the Dodgers after six losing seasons with the Angels.
“It’s always been my childhood dream to be able to be in an important situation, to play in important games,” he said before the postseason started.
Pain didn't stop him.
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