Dodgers: Ohtani 'in a great place' for World Series game 3 versus Yankees

Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said superstar Shohei Ohtani is 'in a great place' for World Series game three Monday in New York following a shoulder injury Saturday night. Doctors have cleared Ohtani to play.

"He's in a great spot. He's playing tomorrow," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told ESPN's Karl Ravech via text, ESPN reported Sunday.

Ohtani appeared to injure his left shoulder on a slide while attempting to steal second base in the seventh inning of Saturday night's 4-2 Dodgers victory over the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium. He was tagged out on the play and was scheduled to undergo an MRI Sunday.

The Dodgers took 2-0 game lead in the series behind dominant pitching by Ohtani's fellow Japanese countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed just one run and one hit in 6 1/3 innings of his World Series debut. He retired the last 11 hitters he faced, his splitter becoming more devastating as the game progressed.

He was removed in the seventh inning after inducing Yankee slugger Giancarlo Stanton to pop up weakly on the infield. Yamamoto still had good velocity and control when his pitch count reached the mid-80s, prompting Roberts to remove him.

"He hadn't been this effective since the first Yankee game," Roberts told Sportico's Barry Bloom. "I felt like this was a good building block game. He threw 87 pitches. We had a good foundation. I really wanted him to get Stanton, get one more hitter and touch that seventh inning."

Yamamoto has been battling through injury himself since early June and the Dodgers have slowly been working his pitch count back up.

Aside from his hitting and base stealing prowess, Ohtani is also an elite pitcher. He has not taken the mound in a game this year, however, as he is recovering from Tommy John surgery on the right elbow of his pitching arm, which made the fact that the Saturday night sliding injury happened on his non throwing shoulder, the left, all the more important to him and the Dodgers as they consider his future.

Ohtani is the first player in Major League Baseball history to steal 50 bases and hit 50 home runs in the same season. He ended the 2024 regular season with 54 homers and 59 steals.

The shoulder injury was diagnosed a subluxation, or partial separation, a condition that involves the shoulder joint 'popping out' briefly and going back into place.

The teams will head to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., with Los Angeles two wins away from the MLB championship. Game 3 will be Monday night, to be broadcast on Fox.

The Dodgers broke the ice Saturday night with a 367-foot solo home run to left field by Tommy Edman off Carlos Rodon in the bottom of the second. But the Yankees tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third with a 399-foot home run by Juan Soto off Yamamoto.

The Dodgers didn't wait long to take the lead again, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third. Two runs came home on a 423-foot home run by Teoscar Hernandez into the right field stands and another on a 419-foot solo homer by Freddie Freeman to deep right center.

The Dodgers scored a second run in the ninth inning on a base hit by Giancarlo Stanton that scored Soto. With one out, Jazz Chisolm Jr. singled and Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Anthony Volpe then struck out and pinch hitter Jose Trevino flied out, ending the game.

The Dodgers signed Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract on Dec. 27, 2023, paying $50.6 million to his Japanese team, the Orix Buffaloes.

The 26-year-old posted a 7-2 record, with a 3.0 earned-run average, during the regular MLB season. He missed about three months with a strained rotator cuff.

MLB World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers take 2-0 lead over New York Yankees