Shohei Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder during an attempted steal of second base Saturday night, potentially putting his availability for the rest of this World Series in jeopardy.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, though, were "encouraged," manager Dave Roberts said after a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium gave his team a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.
Initial strength and range-of-motion tests came back positive, Roberts said. Ohtani, whose injury is defined as a minor dislocation, was expected to undergo an MRI on his shoulder Sunday.
The Dodgers boarded their flight to New York late Saturday night, but Ohtani is expected to undergo his examination in Los Angeles and then fly out to New York to meet the team. The Dodgers will play Games 3, 4 and, potentially, 5 from Yankee Stadium on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Asked if he believed the Dodgers were equipped to sustain the loss of Ohtani -- given how they have overcome injuries to other key hitters, including Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and, most recently, Freddie Freeman -- Roberts said: "I\'m not there. I\'m expecting him to be there. I\'m expecting him to be in the lineup."
Ohtani, who did not sit out any games because of injury this season, was tagged out on the steal attempt at second base to end the seventh inning and was slow to get up, rolling on the ground while grabbing his left arm. When he was finally helped to his feet, Dodgers assistant athletic trainer Yosuke Nakajima held the superstar\'s left arm as the two disappeared into the clubhouse.
Ohtani did not speak to reporters postgame, though he departed without wearing a sleeve on his shoulder.
"The whole stadium went silent," Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said of watching Ohtani go down. "You know how big Shohei is for this team. Hopefully he\'s OK and the day off tomorrow will help him get back on the field on Monday."
Betts is optimistic about the Dodgers persevering if Ohtani is sidelined, especially after the team overcame its injuries while earning the most wins in the majors during the regular season and reaching the World Series for the fourth time in eight seasons.
“We’ve got a great group of guys in here and I believe we can take care of business for sure. I believe in us all,” Betts said.
Most of Ohtani’s injuries since coming to the majors in 2018 have been pitching-related, including major operations on his right elbow in 2018 and last year. The two-way phenomenon has not pitched this year but became the first player in major league history with at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season.
In September 2019, he had surgery on his left kneecap due to a rare condition. The procedure was on his bipartite patella, or a two-part kneecap that didn’t fuse together at birth.
Ohtani missed the 2017 World Baseball Classic after having ankle surgery because of an injury he suffered during the 2016 Japan Series. “When you have a group like this, they picked me up when I have been down. We’ll try to do the same for him,” Freeman said.
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