Is Shohei Ohtani playing in Game 3 tonight? Latest injury updates on Dodgers star’s World Series status vs. Yankees

Everyone in the baseball world is wondering about the status of the game’s biggest superstar ahead of Game 3 of the World Series. 

Last time on the diamond, it was a bittersweet ending for Los Angeles fans. The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the series over the Yankees in a 4-2 win in Game 2 on Saturday night, but the main concern coming out of the contest was the health of star Shohei Ohtani.

The designated hitter left the game in the ninth inning with a shoulder injury after attempting to steal second base. Ohtani was seen wincing in pain as he left the playing surface, grabbing his left shoulder. 

After a day off on Sunday for travel, the Dodgers and Yankees are back in action on Monday night, with Game 3 scheduled to take place at Yankee Stadium. However, will Ohtani be in the lineup for Los Angeles?

Here is the latest on Ohtani’s status for Game 3 of the World Series Monday night.  

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Is Shohei Ohtani playing tonight? 

It won’t be official until the starting lineup is submitted ahead of Game 3, but there is confidence on the Dodgers’ side that Ohtani will be available for Monday night’s contest. 

“I just don’t see him not playing Game 3,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday night. “If he feels good enough to go, then I see no reason why he wouldn’t be in there.”

Ohtani underwent tests in Los Angeles following Game 2 and flew separately from the team to New York. He took part in a workout Sunday night, which would be a good test to see where his shoulder is following the injury. 

“That’s going to be telling,” Roberts said about the workout Sunday. “He’s got to still 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.”

Roberts said that Ohtani’s injury is causing pain, but it should be tolerable for the star. Ohtani is a left-handed batter, meaning that his front shoulder is his right one. That bodes well for hitting. 

“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.”

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What happened to Shohei Ohtani?

Ohtani was favoring his arm after sliding into second base during Game 2 of the World Series. He rolled on his back and grabbed his left arm a few seconds after the play, seemingly having trouble moving the arm before he walked off the field with a trainer.

Ohtani is slow to get up after he attempted to steal 2nd. pic.twitter.com/T3Af5GRaiw

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 27, 2024

Audio could be heard between Roberts and a translator when they went out to check on Ohtani. Japanese media reported Ohtani said his shoulder “popped out.”

Ken Rosenthal on FOX reports that #Dodgers Shohei Ohtani injured his left shoulder on that slide. NHK broadcast said he popped his shoulder out of socket (also known as pulling a Bellinger)

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) October 27, 2024

After the game, Roberts told reporters Ohtani had a “little” subluxation of his left shoulder, but he remained positive about the Dodgers star continuing in the World Series.

MORE: Breaking down the starting pitchers for World Series Game 3

What is a shoulder subluxation?

A shoulder subluxation occurs when “the ball at the top of your upper arm bone may come out of the socket only partially,” moving past the normal location but not completely coming out of place, according to the Cleveland Clinic,

In other terms, it is a partial dislocation.

MORE: Explaining Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder subluxation injury

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