BAD NEWS FOR NEW YORK: Ohtani gets go-signal to play

NEW YORK (AFP) — Shohei Ohtani’s participation in Game Three of the World Series will be a matter of pain tolerance, according to Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who fully expects him to play.

“That’s my expectation given talking to the training staff and getting the reports,” Roberts told reporters at Yankee Stadium, where the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees into Monday’s third game of baseball’s best-of-seven championship showcase.

“I just know, if it’s a per tolerance situation, I just don’t see him not playing Game Three.”

It wasn’t quite the decisive “He’s playing tomorrow” message that Roberts sent ESPN in a text, but the veteran manager sounded confident that Ohtani, who suffered a partially dislocated left shoulder in game two on Saturday, would be good to go.

“He’s still got to go through the workout and swing the bat, but again, today feels better than yesterday and our assumption is tomorrow’s going to feel better than today.”

“So with that — that’s what I’m banking on.”

Ohtani was hurt as he attempted to steal second base in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in Game Two.

Tagged out, Ohtani stayed on the ground grimacing in pain and holding his left arm until medical staff came out to assist him.

He eventually walked to the dugout holding his left arm, elbow bent, near his side as a trainer accompanied him.

Roberts said after the game that the Dodgers were “encouraged” that Ohtani had good range of motion and strength, but wouldn’t know Ohtani’s status until medical imaging scans were done.

After taking time for that, Ohtani was due to join his teammates in New York on Sunday evening.

Roberts said Ohtani would go through a series of more demanding workouts, from hitting balls off a tee to batting practice in a batting cage.

He doesn’t expect the Japanese superstar to be significantly hindered by the injury.

“I don’t see him being compromised,” Roberts said. “It’s the left shoulder, which is the back shoulder, so I don’t see how that affects his hitting, if he’s able to go. I really don’t.”

While the Dodgers took a commanding lead in the series, the injury to Ohtani — who was unable to pitch in his first season with the Dodgers as he recovers from elbow surgery — shocked the crowd at Dodger Stadium.

Ohtani is just one-for-eight at the plate in the first two games of the series with one extra base hit and no runs-batted-in.

But after a Most Valuable Player (MVP)-caliber season in which he became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same campaign, the threat he poses as the Dodgers’ leadoff batter is a key element in Los Angeles’ success.