Shohei Ohtani injured his shoulder sliding into second base in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the World Series.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were leading 2-0 in their best-of-seven series against the New York Yankees on Saturday when a potentially damaging blow put a damper on their 4-2 victory.
Ohtani was caught stealing second base and ended the inning. He lay on the ground clearly in pain and was slow to get up.
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When Ohtani slid, he used his left hand to reduce the impact with the ground. According to MLB.com, the Dodgers were heard on the Fox broadcast saying in Japanese that he had injured his left shoulder before being escorted off the field by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and an athletic trainer.
Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said, “Not just the dugout, the whole stadium went silent.” “I hope he’s OK and that (Sunday’s) day off helps him get off the field.”
After the game, Roberts confirmed that Ohtani suffered a shoulder subluxation and will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
“The strength is amazing,” Roberts said. “The range of motion is good, which is definitely a plus.
“We look forward to having him in the lineup,” the coach added.
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The MRI numbers will shed more light on how the injury will affect Ohtani, the Dodgers’ designated hitter and the leading candidate for the National League MVP Award, for the remainder of the series.
The Dodgers led 4-1 at the time of Ohtani’s injury, but the Yankees fought back in the ninth inning against Los Angeles pitcher Blake Treinen.
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Treinen replaced Michael Kopec, who needed three outs to record the save. Juan Soto quickly singled to turn the game around with one out, and Giancarlo Stanton scored on an RBI to give New York its second run.
Anthony Rizzo issued a walk to load the bases, but Treinen came back and struck out Anthony Volpe.
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Alex Beshear was called from the bullpen to record the final out of the game, and the only pitch he threw retired Jose Trevino with a fly ball, ending the game.
The win moves the Dodgers halfway to their first championship in four years, leaving the Yankees in a desperate situation to win Game 3 on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just one hit, and Soto hit a solo home run, giving him his first RBI for the Yankees.
Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Freddie Freeman hit home runs for the Dodgers. Freeman received a standing ovation from the announced crowd of 52,725 the day after he hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
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