Dodgers 'encouraged' by early indications after Ohtani injures shoulder in G2

LOS ANGELES -- After a 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium, the mood in the clubhouse wasn’t nearly as upbeat as it should be for a team that is two wins away from winning a title.

Following a quick celebration, all the attention immediately turned to the status of superstar Shohei Ohtani, who left Saturday’s game in the seventh inning with a left shoulder subluxation, which is a partial dislocation, according to manager Dave Roberts.

Ohtani left the stadium almost immediately after the game and didn’t provide any updates on his injury. But he will be undergoing an MRI on Sunday before flying out to New York.

“We’re going to get some tests at some point tonight, tomorrow, and then we’ll know more in the next couple days,” Roberts said. “But the strength was great. The range of motion, good. So we’re encouraged. But obviously I can’t speculate because we don’t have the scans yet. Once we get the scans, we’ll know more.”

With the early indications, Roberts wouldn’t say if Ohtani was going to be forced to miss any time during the rest of the World Series. When asked what Los Angeles’ plans without Ohtani would be, Roberts said the team “wasn’t there yet.”

“Obviously that’s a huge bummer,” said Dodgers utility man Tommy Edman. “He’s the best player in the game, and to see him on the ground in pain, it’s not a good feeling for sure. I don’t know if any reports have come out yet, but we’re hopeful he recovers quickly. We’re sending our thoughts and prayers for him.”

After drawing a walk against Yankees reliever Clay Holmes in the seventh, Ohtani took off for second base and appeared to overrun the bag as he reached awkwardly with his left arm. Before that, however, Ohtani’s arm appeared to get caught behind his body. It was only the second stolen-base attempt of the postseason for Ohtani after he swiped 59 bags during the regular season.

“He’s a pretty astute baserunner,” Roberts said. “With two outs right there, to try to tack on in a World Series game, it was the right play. [It’s] just, baseball happens.”

As soon as Gleyber Torres applied the tag at second base, Ohtani knew something was wrong. He immediately signaled for a timeout to the second-base umpire. A microphone on the base caught Ohtani telling the trainer that he had hurt his shoulder. When asked if he dislocated it, Ohtani responded “I don’t know” in Japanese.

“The scene [was] very concerning,” Roberts said. “Obviously when you get any one of your players that goes down, it’s concerning. But after kind of the range of motion, the strength test, I felt much better about it.”

Though the severity of the injury won’t be clear for at least another 24 hours, losing Ohtani for any amount of time would be a devastating blow to the Dodgers’ offense moving forward.

Ohtani is presumably on his way to his third Most Valuable Player Award after becoming the first player to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season. The Japanese superstar has also shined in the postseason, hitting a three-run homer in his first career playoff game against the Padres.

Prior to the injury, Ohtani was just 1-for-8 in the Fall Classic, but he scored the game-tying run in the eighth inning in the Game 1 win. His presence in the lineup is something that can’t be overstated.

If Ohtani is forced to miss time, the Dodgers can have Freddie Freeman serve as the designated hitter, perhaps opening up more playing time for Andy Pages, who hit a pair of homers in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series against the Mets.

“We’ve been battling throughout the year with a lot of injuries,” said Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández. “It’s not going to be a good feeling, but if he can’t go on Monday, we just have to keep doing the thing we’ve been doing for the past couple weeks.”