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Shohei Ohtani texted Dodgers teammates Saturday night: ‘I’m fine’

October 28, 2024

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani left Dodger Stadium quickly after injuring his left shoulder during Game 2 on Saturday night, leaving his teammates with as many questions about his status for the rest of the World Series as everyone else.

Then their phones started buzzing.

“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,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy revealed before Game 3 on Monday. “He said he was going to play, so we all put it (any concerns) to the side at that moment. We said, all right, he’s got us. We’ll be ready for him to be in the lineup.”

The group chat is among players only, so Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t hear about the text until Muncy mentioned it to the media on Monday.

“It would have been helpful if I saw that thread,” Roberts joked. “I would have slept better Saturday night.”

Roberts was able to sleep better after watching Ohtani go through “probably 80%” of his normal daily routine during the Dodgers’ off-day workout Sunday. Ohtani traveled separately from the team after getting examined on Sunday and arrived at Yankee Stadium as the workout was winding down.

“Saturday night (when he was injured) to yesterday when I saw him in the cage hitting balls 102 miles an hour off a tee – that was joy,” Roberts said.

“He was very adamant that he was going to play. … I think there was more uncertainty in all of our minds. But in his mind from Day One, from Saturday evening, he was going to play.”

Roberts said Monday that Ohtani’s shoulder was popped back into place by the athletic training staff at the ballpark and an MRI showed no structural damage. He wasn’t sure whether the injury will heal on its own or any procedure would be needed after the Series.

Asked whether Ohtani received medication, an injection or was being taped up, Roberts said “it’s all of the above on the treatment and stuff. The tape is just protecting and stabilizing, not really limiting.”

A separated shoulder is subject to recurrence. Roberts said he doubted Ohtani will attempt any more stolen bases during the Series.

The likely National League MVP is 1 for 8 in the first two games of the series and is batting .260 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his first postseason in the majors.

GAME 4

The Dodgers will run another bullpen game for Game 4 against the Yankees. Brent Honeywell Jr. was in the interview room before Game 3, so he was asked if that was an indication he would the ‘opener’ for the bullpen game.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Good question.”

Roberts said Honeywell was not “Plan A” to start Game 4 and the pitching plan would be “contingent’ on how the bullpen was used in Game 3.

“I say that with all honesty because there’s leverage guys in a plus game (Dodgers leading) that I’m going to use. And if the game is kind of middling or a different situation, then I’ll use other guys,” Roberts said. “I just don’t know how we’re going to come out of it.”

Roberts said Honeywell could be a part of the Game 4 bullpen game.

“It’s all about doing your job, each guy,” Honeywell said of the approach to bullpen games. “You go out, you get the outs that you’re asked to get. And once that happens, you’ve got to watch the guy coming behind you and do the same thing.

“It’s all about kind of giving a different look. I’d put our bullpen up with any bullpen that I’ve ever been on and any bullpen I’ve ever seen. I want to win, and if that’s how we’ve got to do it, that’s how we’ve got to do it.”

ALL RISE

Earlier in the postseason, when Ohtani was going through a 2-for-17 stretch and couldn’t seem to get a hit without runners on base, Roberts was asked about dropping him in the batting order. He rejected the idea.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was being asked the same questions before Game 3 in New York about Aaron Judge. The presumptive American League MVP was 1 for 9 with six strikeouts in the first two games against the Dodgers, 6 for 40 (.150) with 19 strikeouts this postseason and is a career .199 hitter in the postseason.

“It’s the World Series, no,” Boone said of moving Judge down in the order. “That’s our guy, and there’s pressure in the Series, whatever spot you’re hitting. He’s our guy and we’re confident he’ll get it going.”

OVERSEAS APPEAL

The World Series is averaging 15.15 million viewers in Japan through two games. According to MLB, the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in Game 2 averaged 15.9 million, making it the most-watched MLB postseason game in the nation’s history.

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The Dodgers’ dramatic 6-3 victory in Game 1 – which ended on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning – averaged 14.4 million.

Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles, meaning the games started around 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday morning in Japan. The games are being carried through Fuji TV, NHK BS and J Sports.

Combined with the United States ratings, the first two games have a combined 29.7 million average in the two countries.

The World Series is averaging 14.55 million viewers in the U.S. on Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming, putting it on track for its best performance since 2017.

According to Nielsen, the matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers has also meant a 93% increase in viewership within the 18-34-year-old demographic. According to MLB, social engagement is up 225% and views on social channels have increased 229%.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Orange County Register

News Details

Shohei Ohtani texted Dodgers teammates Saturday night: ‘I’m fine’

GAME 4

ALL RISE

OVERSEAS APPEAL

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