NEW YORK — The Dodgers have hoped for the best on injuries all season only to be disappointed many times.
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Maybe not this time.
Multiple sources Sunday said Shohei Ohtani had recovered well – “shockingly well,” one source said – from the partial dislocation of his left shoulder suffered during Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night.
Ohtani was examined by doctors Sunday morning before heading to New York. He underwent an MRI. Results were not available when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night. But, with the off day Sunday, it’s possible Ohtani could be in the Dodgers’ lineup for Game 3 on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers’ resident optimist in chief, Roberts even made it sound likely that Ohtani will play Monday based on pain tolerance from the injury.
“That’s my expectation given talking to the training staff and getting the reports,” Roberts said Sunday night. “If it’s a per tolerance situation, I just don’t see him not playing Game 3.”
Ohtani was injured sliding into second base when he was caught trying to steal to end the seventh inning of Saturday’s 4-2 victory that put the Dodgers up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Ohtani laid on the ground near second base for a few minutes before leaving the field with a trainer at his side. He was later diagnosed with the partial dislocation.
“Not only the dugout, but the whole stadium went silent,” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said after the game. “You know how big Shohei is for this team.”
Roberts said Ohtani was “feeling good” on Sunday with good range of motion and strength in the injured shoulder. Ohtani, who took a seperate flight so he could get his MRI, was expected to try taking dry swings (going through the motion of a swing without a ball involved) then progress to hitting off a tee and taking batting practice as he usually does in the cage (not on the field).
He was at Yankee Stadium for the Dodgers’ workout Sunday night but did not come out on the field.
“I think that he’s obviously very well aware of himself and his body,” Roberts said. “So if he feels good enough to go (after that workout), then I see no reason why he wouldn’t be in there.”
Roberts said Ohtani would not be allowed to play if there is a possibility of injuring himself further by playing. He compared it to All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has played on a severely sprained ankle all month.
“I think honestly it’s just per his tolerance. That’s just what it is,” Roberts said. “So I guess you could put it in the Freddie bucket. Guys have had this before and played. But again, it’s just everyone’s tolerance.”
Cody Bellinger, then with the Dodgers, suffered a dislocated right shoulder while celebrating a home run in Game 7 of the 2020 National League Championship Series. He continued to play but went just 3 for 22 (although with one home run) in the six-game World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Very similar, just a different shoulder,” Roberts said. “I would argue that the right shoulder is more compromising to the swing for a left-handed hitter than the left shoulder.”
Bellinger eventually had surgery to tighten the shoulder joint. In his case, though, the 2020 injury was one of multiple times he had dislocated his shoulder. Ohtani’s injury is believed to be his first involving a shoulder dislocation (or partial in this case).
Ohtani has gone 1 for 8 with a double in the first two games of the World Series and is batting .260 (13 for 50) with three home runs and 12 walks in his first MLB postseason.
“That doesn’t concern me,” Roberts said of the possibility Ohtani would not be playing at full strength if he returns to the lineup. “If he is able to play, willing to play, he’s going to play. (Yankees Game 3 starter Clarke) Schmidt will know that Shohei’s in the box, so that means everything.”
The 30-year-old Ohtani hit .310 with 54 home runs, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases, becoming the first player in MLB history 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,” said Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler, who will start Game 3. “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 (36) and days on the injured list (2,342).
BUEHLER READY
A two-time All-Star, the 30-year-old Buehler returned from his second Tommy John surgery in May and then missed nearly two months this season with a hip injury before coming back in mid-August.
He has started a pair of Game 3s in this postseason, allowing six runs over five innings in a 6-5 loss the NL Division Series in San Diego and pitching four innings in an 8-0 win for on the road against the Mets.
Buehler, who enjoys pitching in cold weather, is 3-4 with a 3.25 ERA in 17 career postseason starts. He’s allowed just one run and five hits with 17 strikeouts over 13 innings in two previous World Series outings, in 2018 against Boston and 2020 vs. Tampa Bay –both in Game 3.
“We’re looking forward to Walker because Walker’s a big-game pitcher,” said Freeman, who has homered in his last four World Series games dating to 2021 with Atlanta.
DOWN, BUT NOT OUT
The previous two times these old October rivals squared off in the World Series, the team that lost the first two games away from home came back to win the next four and take home the title.
New York turned the trick in 1978, followed by the Dodgers in 1981.
And the last two times the Yankees fell behind 2-0 in a World Series, they rallied to win three straight games. They took four in a row to win the 1996 championship against Atlanta, and went up 3-2 in 2001 before dropping Games 6 and 7 in Arizona.
“All the momentum and the hoopla and all that stuff, I think it’s just learning how to kind of embrace that. I think pretty early in my career I learned how to do that in some ways,” Buehler said. “But I think that’s the mental hurdle, and then it’s kind of the same game, just on a bigger stage.”
The Yankees, happy to be back in front of their home fans, are looking to stage a comeback that would at least send this highly anticipated matchup back to Los Angeles for a potential Game 6.
“The Bronx is a special place. They back us. They pump us up. They put pressure on other teams,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “When that stadium is rocking, we feel it. We need to get that energy when we come in on Monday and get it going.”
SLEEPING GIANT?
New York has mustered five runs over 19 World Series innings so far, batting .143 with runners in scoring position (2 for 14) and stranding 17 overall.
Maybe a return home will unleash a slumping Aaron Judge and the rest of these Bronx Bombers, who went 3-1 at Yankee Stadium during the American League playoffs.
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“We’ve been through a lot of tough moments throughout the year. So I think we’ve been there,” All-Star outfielder Juan Soto said. “We know how (to take) a couple punches in the face and just keep battling and keep going. We can go home and do our thing.”
JUST CHILLIN’
With most players wearing ski hats, the Dodgers held an off-day practice under the lights at Yankee Stadium on Sunday – just as they did 12 days ago across town at Citi Field ahead of Game 3 in the NLCS against the Mets.
Meanwhile, the Yankees spent Sunday traveling cross-country and were not available to the media.
It’s expected to be about 53 degrees at first pitch and falling slightly Monday night, after the first two games were played with temperatures in the mid-70s.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.