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Dodgers announce status for Game 3 of the WS

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NEW YORK – If Shohei Ohtani can handle the pain, he will play in Game 3 of the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday night at Yankee Stadium that he expects Ohtani to play in Game 3 on Monday night if the slugger and leadoff hitter can endure the discomfort two days after suffering a left shoulder subluxation in Game 2 on Saturday night.

“If (Ohtani) feels well enough to go, I don’t see any reason why he won’t be there,” Roberts said Sunday night.

Ohtani flew separately from the team and was scheduled to arrive in New York on Sunday evening, Roberts said, after undergoing shoulder tests in Los Angeles. The manager said hitting balls off the tee and batting practice in an indoor cage was “informative.”

“I think he's obviously very aware of himself and his body.”

After Saturday night's game, Roberts expressed confidence that Ohtani had avoided a serious injury, but the Dodgers' designated hitter had to undergo further testing to confirm that.

On Sunday, Roberts said Ohtani's situation was not unlike that of Cody Bellinger, who suffered a dislocated shoulder while hitting his go-ahead home run in the National League Championship Series in 2020. The shoulder was dislocated again and Bellinger played in the World Series.

But Ohtani's situation is a little better than Bellinger's: Ohtani injured his left shoulder, Bellinger injured his right. Since both are left-handed, the strain on the right arm is significantly greater.

Ohtani injured his left shoulder while sliding into second base during an attempted steal in the seventh inning of Game 2 and left the field with a trainer after being left on the ground.

“The whole stadium went quiet,” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said.

The Dodgers are 2-0 in the World Series and Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) are Monday through Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Maybe Ohtani won't be at his best. But Roberts isn't too worried about that, especially given Ohtani's outsized presence should he get the better of Clarke Schmidt, the Yankees' Game 3 starter.

“If he can play and is willing, he will play,” Roberts said. “Schmidt will know that Shohei is in the box, so that means everything.”

Ohtani, signed for $700 million last winter, became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and 50 steals in a single season and will likely be the unanimous MVP of the National League. The 30-year-old is making his first career postseason appearance and has three home runs, 10 RBI and an .863 OPS in 13 games during the playoffs in Los Angeles.

He went 1-8 in the first two games of the World Series against the Yankees.

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