Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani partially dislocated his left shoulder while attempting to steal second base in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees on Saturday.
Ohtani’s status for Monday’s Game 3 in New York is unknown. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani had a “mild left shoulder subluxation” and would undergo imaging tests Saturday night or Sunday.
Ohtani clutched his left forearm after getting the last out of the inning by shortstop Anthony Volpe on a feet-first slide. He lay near the bag for several minutes before leaving the field under the care of his trainers.
“We will know more in the coming days,” Roberts said. “The strength was great, the range of motion was good, so we’re encouraged. But obviously we can’t speculate because we haven’t gotten the scans yet. So once we get the scans… You’ll see more. Again, he has good strength and good range of motion, so that’s definitely a plus.”
The Dodgers held on for the win with a 4-2 lead and led the series 2-0.
The Japanese slugger and National League MVP candidate went 0-for-3 with one walk in the game. He went 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.
“It was tough. You never like to see the best player in the game get injured like that,” Yankees superstar Aaron Judge said. “That’s what happens when you try to steal a base like that there. But I hope it’s all good news. Let’s see what happens.”
Ohtani was one of the few players on the Dodgers roster to make it through the season without major injuries. The pitching staff has been plagued by injuries, with nearly the entire starting rotation on the disabled list.
Among position players, Mookie Betts was out for nearly two months with a broken bone in his left hand, and Max Muncy was out for nearly half the season with a right oblique strain. Freddie Freeman is playing in the postseason with a severely sprained right ankle.
Betts believes the Dodgers will persevere despite Ohtani’s absence, especially after the Dodgers overcame injuries to win the most regular season games in the majors and reach the World Series for the fourth time in eight seasons. I’m optimistic.
“We have a great group of guys here, so I’m confident we can do business. I believe in everyone,” Betts said.
Most of Ohtani’s injuries since arriving in the majors in 2018 have been pitching-related, including major surgeries on his right elbow in 2018 and last year. Although the two-way phenomenon did not pitch this year, he became the first player in major league history to hit at least 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.
In September 2019, he underwent surgery on his left patella due to a rare condition. The surgery was performed on his bipartite patella, a two-part patella that was not fused at birth.
Ohtani missed the 2017 World Baseball Classic after undergoing surgery on an ankle he injured during the 2016 Japan Series.
“When you have a group like this, they pick me up when I’m down and we try to do the same for him,” Freeman said.