The Los Angeles Dodgers hold a 2-0 lead in the World Series after Saturday night’s 4-2 win over the New York Yankees, but the biggest concern right now is the state of Shohei Ohtani’s labrum. The Dodgers superstar exited the game in the seventh inning after a stolen-base attempt partially dislocated his shoulder.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Ohtani took off for second base and caught his arm awkwardly in the slide. After he was tagged out to end the inning, he stayed on the ground in pain while Dodgers staff attended to him. He then left the field holding his arm and didn’t return. After Los Angeles escaped a dicey ninth inning to seal the win, manager Dave Roberts shared an update: Ohtani had suffered a left shoulder subluxation, and he would undergo further tests including an MRI on Sunday.
Roberts said he was encouraged by initial testing on Ohtani’s shoulder, but the designated hitter’s timetable will become clearer after an MRI. Game 3 is Monday night in New York, so time is limited for the Dodgers. If they’re searching for any kind of optimistic spin, perhaps it’s this: Los Angeles has already stymied the Yankees twice without relying a lot on Ohtani. He was the game-tying run in the eighth inning of Game 1, but he’s 1-for-8 in the World Series. He’s been great in the postseason overall, slashing .260/.403/.460 with three homers and 10 RBI, but the Dodgers’ quality pitching, Tommy Edman, and a one-ankled Freddie Freeman have contributed more to the 2-0 series lead.
Still, as stacked as the Dodgers are, it feels sacrilegious to suggest that they could win two more games without Ohtani. Even if they’ve handled the Yankees so far, any extended absence for him would create a major vulnerability in the lineup, one that could be easily exploited with the next two games in New York. Roberts said after Game 2 that he was operating with the expectation that Ohtani would be available for Game 3, but further updates might force him to adjust that expectation quickly.
