Baseball

Dodgers Take a 3-0 World Series Lead as Shohei Ohtani Plays Through Injury

Los Angeles is on the brink of its first World Series title since 2020 after beating the New York Yankees 4-2. Ohtani scored the game's first run.

by
Ed Odeven
October 29, 2024

As expected, Shohei Ohtani was in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the World Series, giving his club an inspirational boost.

Two days after suffering a partial dislocation of his left shoulder, also known as a subluxation, Ohtani batted leadoff and served as the Los Angeles Dodgers' designated hitter against the New York Yankees on Monday night, October 28 at Yankee Stadium.

Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt threw four straight balls to Ohtani to open the game.

Two batters later, Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman belted a two-run home run over the right-field fence on a 1-2 cut fastball. Ohtani crossed the plate with the game's first run around 9:20 AM JST on Tuesday as a public viewing event was held in his hometown of Oshu, Iwate Prefecture.

The Dodgers never trailed. They earned a 4-2 victory, giving them a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"The pain has subsided, so I felt pretty good about it," Ohtani was quoted as saying by Reuters through an interpreter. "I taped myself up today. So it did feel different compared to when I don't tape myself."

Game 4 is on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning JST) at the same ballpark.

A Plethora of Pitchers in Game 3

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler held the Yankees to two hits and struck out five in five scoreless innings. Six relievers preserved the lead.

Schmidt, who took the loss, lasted 2 ⅔ innings before Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled him from the game. He allowed three runs and two hits, walked four and struck out three.

Seven Yankees relievers pitched the rest of the game and allowed just one more run. But New York's offense was ineffective once again.

How Ohtani Revealed He Would Play in Game 3

Before the game, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy revealed that Ohtani informed his teammates on Sunday that he would be back in action in Game 3.

In Game 2, also a 4-2 win for the Dodgers, Ohtani sustained the shoulder injury during an unsuccessful stolen-base attempt. During his feet-first slide into second base, his left hand hit the dirt hard and his shoulder jolted out of place.

"He texted the whole team as we were on our way to the airport [after Game 2] and said he was going to be fine," Muncy said, according to MLB.com. "And that was it. He said he was going to play, and so we all just put it to the side at that moment. We all said, 'All right, he's got us. We'll be ready for him to be in the lineup.' "

*Shohei Ohtani bats in the first inning in Game 3. (©SANKEI)*

Details on Ohtani's Performance

Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, a walk and a hit by pitch.

After being walked in the first inning, he grounded out to second in the third, struck out swinging on a 3-2 cutter in the fourth and hit a pop-up in foul territory down the third-base line in the seventh.

With one out in the top of the ninth, in Ohtani's final plate appearance of the game, Yankees reliever Luke Weaver plunked his left shoe with a pitch. Mookie Betts grounded into a double play to end the visitors' half of the inning.

To his credit, Ohtani endured the left shoulder injury and performed his job. Clearly, his swing didn't have the same exceptional torque, a catalyst for his impressive power-hitting skills, that is usually on display. (Ohtani led the National League with 54 home runs this season.)

"If it was more of the right shoulder, then I think it would have impacted my swing," Ohtani said through his interpreter, according to The Associated Press. "Thankfully, it was my left, so I don't think it really did."

World Series Observations on Ohtani

During ESPN Radio's broadcast of the game, baseball analyst Doug Glanville, a former MLB player, commented on what he saw during Ohtani's plate appearances.

"You can see he just looks uncomfortable," Glanville said.

Added Glanville, "He just looks like he's swinging [while] protecting something, which he is."

Ohtani wore a sling over his left shoulder to help stabilize it, and the shoulder was also taped for further support. He also kept his left arm elevated while on the bases.

"The reason why I was holding on to myself when I was running is to make sure that I wouldn't use that same shoulder arm if I were to slide," Ohtani was quoted as saying by The Associated Press after the game.

Before the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shared his thoughts on the importance of having Ohtani in the lineup.

"Well, I think it's certainly an edge to us having him in the batter's box," Roberts told reporters. "Regardless of what limitations a pitcher might think he might or might not have, not many guys are willing to take that chance. I'm just expecting him to control the strike zone, let the at-bats come to him, and swing and fire when the ball's in a hitting zone.

"Again, we're just very grateful that he's in the lineup."

The Dodgers increased their lead to 3-0 on a Betts RBI single in the third and extended it to 4-0 in the sixth.

With two outs in the ninth, Alex Verdugo bashed a two-run homer off Michael Kopech over the right-center field fence, pulling the Yankees within 4-2. Gleyber Torres hit a groundout to end the game.

Freeman Discusses His World Series Success, Ankle Ailment

On Monday, Freeman slugged a homer for the third consecutive game in this World Series and five straight Fall Classic games in total dating back to 2021 when he played for the Atlanta Braves. After Game 3, he commented on his World Series heroics. Only three players have belted homers in the first three games of a World Series (the others: Hank Bauer in 1958 and Barry Bonds in 2002).

"I don't know," Freeman, 35, said in an interview on ESPN Radio with baseball insider Buster Olney. "That's the beautiful thing about baseball. You just don't know."

Freeman also addressed his ongoing challenge of dealing with a right ankle sprain since late September.

"I got myself in a good spot with my swing on those days off," Freeman said in the postgame interview. "So I got the ankle in a good spot. I've been able to work on my swing and I've been seeing the ball really well."

He added, "I've been swinging at the strikes and looking at the balls, kind of what you're trying to accomplish in these games."

World Series Hero Freeman Shares Thoughts on Ohtani

Asked for his opinion about Ohtani in Game 3 during the ESPN Radio interview, Freeman praised his teammate's mental fortitude.

"I told him before the game I'm just proud [of you]," Freeman said. "To go out there and give everything you have when you're not feeling good and doing everything you can to get on that field [is impressive]."

Freeman then said, "To get on base twice [tonight], it's special. And it's a reason he's, in my opinion, one of the greatest athletes on the planet, and he showed it again tonight."

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.