Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks to the plate to bat against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 3 of the World Series of baseball, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
NEW YORK – Shohei Ohtani was not on the team bus from Dodger Stadium to Los Angeles International Airport because he was undergoing tests Saturday night after partially separating his left shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series.
So, the Japanese star joined a group chat with other Dodgers players to erase any doubts about his status.
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“The text literally said, 'I can play,'” infielder Max Muncy recalled Monday. “I mean, there was more to it than that.”
READ: The Dodgers are one victory away from sweeping the World Series and beat the Yankees
True to his word, Ohtani remained in the lineup in his usual leadoff spot as the designated hitter for Game 3 of the World Series. He walked to start the game and scored on Freddie Freeman's two-run home run, allowing the Dodgers to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 and take a 3-0 lead in the World Series.
Ohtani went 0 for 3 with a walk and a hit by pitch, looking uncomfortable as he grimaced and grimaced while swinging. He fell to 1 for 11 in the Series.
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He was the only Dodgers starter to wear a warm-up jacket during pregame introductions and high-five his teammates with his right hand. A black wrapper was visible over his left shoulder.
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He didn't swing in his first plate appearance, taking four balls from Clarke Schmidt. Ohtani kept his left arm angled across his chest while at first almohadilla, holding his neck with his hand, and kept it there as he rounded the bases on Freeman's home run.
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Ohtani grounded out in the third and clutched his chest as he ran back to the dugout. He struck out in the fourth and fouled out in the seventh.
Muncy said Ohtani wrote the English text himself without the help of interpreter Will Ireton.
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“We all put it aside at that point,” Muncy recalled. “We all said, 'Okay, you've got us. We'll be ready for him to be in the lineup.'”
READ: Shohei Ohtani will play the third game of the World Series
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts didn't receive the text — “That group chat is for us, that's for the players,” Muncy said — and didn't realize until Monday.
“It would have been helpful if I was in that thread. I would have slept better Saturday night,” Roberts said with a smile.
Ohtani was hurt sliding into second almohadilla when he was caught stealing to end the seventh inning of Saturday night's 4-2 win in Los Angeles.
Roberts said athletic training staff at the stadium put Ohtani's shoulder back in place and that an MRI showed no structural damage. He was unsure if the injury will heal on its own or if any procedures will be necessary after the Series.
When asked if Ohtani received medication, an injection or was being bandaged, Roberts said, “It's all the above about treatment and stuff. The tape simply protects and stabilizes, it doesn't really limit.”
Ohtani swung off a tee in a Yankee Stadium batting cage Sunday night and hit balls at 102 mph, changing Roberts' mood to “joy.”
“I was very convinced that I was going to play,” Roberts said. “Obviously, there is some discomfort.”
A separated shoulder is subject to recurrence. Roberts said he doubted Ohtani would try to steal more bases during the Series.
READ: Shohei Ohtani dislocates his shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series
“If you keep the best player in the game in the lineup, that's usually good for your team,” Muncy said. “Obviously, he's a big guy to have there. It helps a lot. “He’s had some great moments for us and obviously we expect a couple more great moments from him.”
With the Dodgers chasing their eighth championship and second in five years, Walker Buehler was scheduled to start Game 3 for Los Angeles in the best-of-seven Series.
Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a walk in Game 2. The likely National League MVP went 1-for-8 in the first two games of the Fall Classic and hit .260 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in in his first postseason in the majors.
“It was very difficult to see him suffer that pain at that moment,” Muncy said. “We were two innings away from winning that game. We knew we had to refocus. Obviously, it sucks to see Sho in that kind of pain, but we still had work to do right now.
“After the game we all checked on him to see how he was doing. It was like a buffet line going in there to see how it was. Yes, it was difficult at the time, but we refocused to win the game.”
Ohtani, a two-time American League MVP with the Los Angeles Angels, joined the Dodgers last December on a record $700 million, 10-year contract.
The 30-year-old slugger hit .310 with 54 home runs, 130 runs batted in and 59 stolen bases, becoming the first player with at least 50 home runs 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.
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“You see him walk away holding (his arm) like that, obviously that's a concern. But I hope he's OK,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone said before Game 3. “We want to all be here competing with and against the best, and obviously Shohei embodies that. I hope everything is fine and we can compete against him.”