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Ohtani injury: dislocated shoulder during World Series
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Ohtani injury: dislocated shoulder during World Series

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani partially dislocated his left shoulder during the seventh inning of Saturday’s World Series Game 2 against the New York Yankees when he attempted to steal second base.

Ohtani’s status for Monday’s Game 3 in New York is unclear. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani “has a small subluxation in his left shoulder” and will undergo an image test Saturday night or Sunday.

Ohtani grabbed his left forearm after being hit by shortstop Anthony Volpe for the final out of the inning on a foot-first slide. He lay near the bag for a few minutes before being treated by trainers and left the field.

“We will know more in the coming days,” Roberts said. “The strength was great. Range of motion is good. So we are encouraged. But obviously I can’t speculate because we haven’t received the scans yet. So once we get the scans, we’ll know more. Again, with strength and range of motion, that’s definitely a positive.

The Dodgers held on for a 4-2 victory and lead the series 2-0.

The Japanese slugger – and presumed National League MVP – was 0 for 3 with a walk in the game. He is 1 for 8 through the first two games of the Fall Classic and has a .260 batting average with three homers and 10 RBIs in his first postseason in the majors.

“It was difficult. You never like to see the best player in the game get hurt like that,” Yankees superstar Aaron Judge said. “I try to steal a base like that, and something like this happens. But I hope it’s all good news. We’ll see what happens.

Ohtani had been one of the few players on the Dodgers team to make it through the season without a major injury. The pitching staff has been plagued by injuries, with nearly every member of the starting rotation spending time on the injured list.

Among position players, Mookie Betts was out for nearly two months with a broken left hand, and Max Muncy was out for nearly half the season with a right oblique strain. Freddie Freeman is playing in the playoffs with a seriously sprained right ankle.

Betts is optimistic the Dodgers will persist if Ohtani is sidelined, especially after the team overcame injuries while posting the most major tournament wins during the regular season and reaching the World Cup. Series for the fourth time in eight seasons.

“We have a great group of guys here and I believe we can definitely take care of business.” I believe in all of us,” Betts said.

Most of Ohtani’s injuries since arriving in the majors in 2018 have been pitching-related, including major surgeries on his right elbow in 2018 and last year. The two-way phenom didn’t pitch this year, but became the first player in major league history to hit at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.

In September 2019, he underwent surgery on his left kneecap due to a rare condition. The procedure focused on his bipartite patella, or a two-part kneecap that did not merge at birth.

Ohtani missed the 2017 World Baseball Classic after undergoing ankle surgery due to an injury he suffered during the 2016 Japan Series.

“When you have a group like this, they came for me when I was down. We’ll try to do the same for him,” Freeman said.