Shohei Ohtani plays in World Series Game 3 following injury scare

By Jacob Lev, Kevin Dotson and Thomas Schlachter, CNN

(CNN) — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani played in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night, batting in his usual spot at the top of the order.

Ohtani sustained a left shoulder subluxation in the bottom of the seventh inning while attempting a steal during Game 2 on Saturday, which the Dodgers went on to win 4-2 against the New York Yankees. A shoulder subluxation occurs when “the humerus partially slides in and out of place quickly,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Ohtani drew a walk in his first at-bat and appeared to be wearing some sort of strap over his left shoulder as he was being introduced ahead of the game. He did not appear to have any obvious protection on his injured shoulder as he walked up to bat.

He scored the game’s first run when Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run in the first inning.

Speaking with reporters Monday ahead of Game 3, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said Ohtani eased injury worries over with a message to his teammates.

“He texted the whole team as we were on our way to the airport and said he was going to be fine, and that’s it. He said he was going to play, so we all put it to the side at that moment,” Muncy said.

“We said, all right, he’s got us. We’ll be ready for him to be in the lineup.”

Muncy said it was “tough” to see his teammate in pain but the Dodgers knew they had to focus on the task at hand to seal victory in Game 2.

“We knew we had to refocus. Obviously it sucks seeing Sho in that kind of pain, but we still had a job to do in the moment.

“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 he’s doing.”

Ohtani sustained the injury in the win which put the Dodgers ahead two games to none in the best-of-seven series.

With the Dodgers up 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Ohtani took off for second base but was thrown out to end the inning. Ohtani remained on the ground grimacing in pain and eventually walked off the field with trainers holding his left arm.

According to the FOX broadcast, microphones picked up a conversation between Ohtani and trainers saying that his left shoulder appears to have popped out of its socket.

This year marks Ohtani’s first appearance in the MLB postseason after he missed out in each of his six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

The star player is riding on a series of remarkable accomplishments in recent months, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. Ohtani finished the regular season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to reporting.