NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani wasn't on the team bus from Dodger Stadium to Los Angeles International Airport because he was getting tests Saturday night after partially separating his left shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series. So the Japanese star reached out in a group chat with fellow Dodgers players to erase any doubts over his status. “The text just like literally said: `I can play,'” infielder Max Muncy recalled Monday.
“I mean, there was more to it than that.” True to his word, Ohtani remained in the lineup in his regular leadoff slot as the designated hitter for Game 3 of the World Series with Los Angeles holding a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees. Ohtani was the only Dodgers starter wearing a warmup jacket during pregame introductions and high-fived teammates with his right hand.
A black wrapping was visible over his left shoulder. He didn't swing in his first plate appearance, taking four balls from Clarke Schmidt. Ohtani kept his left arm at an angle over his chest while at first base, hand holding his collar, and held it there while rounding the bases on Freddie Freeman's two-run homer.
Muncy said Ohtani wrote the text himself in English without assistance from interpreter Will Ireton. “We all just put it to the side at that moment,” Muncy remembered. “We all said: `All right, he’s got us.
We'll be ready for him to be in the lineup.'” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't get the text message — “that group chat is for us — that’s for .
