Chethma De Mel, Jadetimes Staff
C. J. De Mel is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Entertainment News
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees, 4-2, in a raucous Game 2 of the World Series, sending Dodger Stadium into a frenzy after early home runs off Tommy Edman, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto cruising on the mound, it seemed the Dodgers were cruising. But that momentum dissipated through the middle innings, and a late-game attempt by Shohei Ohtani to spark something didn't materialize into a lost opportunity and an unfortunate injury.
Ohtani, who worked a walk off in the seventh inning, tried to steal with two outs, attempting to set up what could have been an important insurance run. On the first pitch, he took off toward second, but Yankees catcher Austin Wells' perfect throw beat Ohtani to the base. But when Ohtani didn't get up after the slide-in which his left arm appeared injured from an awkward slide that saw his left hand plant into the dirt in a painful and limiting way-the lively crowd fell silent.
Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts and a member of the training staff sprinted onto the field to attend to his superstar, who eventually got to his feet and walked off the field gingerly, clutching his arm. Japanese broadcasters described how Ohtani characterized the sensation as his shoulder "popping out." An initial word was that it was a shoulder subluxation, but nothing was confirmed after the game.
Ohtani refused to speak with reporters after the game, leaving fans and media to guess precisely how he was feeling as he hurried out of the stadium, apparently in a good mood. It was Roberts who spoke to reporters, an encouraging update. "He had a little left shoulder subluxation," Roberts said, adding that Ohtani would get an MRI later that night or the following day. "The strength was great.". "The range of motion was good," he said, still hopeful of an Ohtani return.
It was a similar tone of optimism and caution in postgame interviews from the Dodgers players, too, when it came to discussing the significance of Ohtani to a successful World Series run. "Hopefully, he's OK," Hernández said. "The day off tomorrow will help him get back on the field Monday." Freeman was still riding the high of his walk-off grand slam, and speaking to the same tone: confident in the depth of the team and its ability to overcome an injury to one of its stars.
With this win, the Dodgers are up 2-0 in the series and boarded the cross-country plane to New York on an upbeat note while the status of Ohtani is hanging further in the balance. For now, optimism from the Dodgers wins out, heading into further updates about their superstar in hopes of a quick recovery and continuance with some decent playing time in the World Series.
