Takeaways from Yankees-Dodgers World Series Game 2: Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder injury overshadows win

According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Hernandez and Freeman are the second pair of Dodgers batters to hit back-to-back home runs in World Series history, joining Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager in 1981. 

Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto shines in first World Series start

Rodon couldn’t deliver the start New York hoped for out of its $162 million man, but Yamamoto lived up to his $325 million price tag.

Yamamoto was solid in his NLCS Game 4 start against the New York Mets, allowing two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old elevated his game to another level on Saturday, though, allowing just a single run on one hit in 6 1/3 innings while racking up four strikeouts.

The lone blemish of Yamamoto’s outing came in the top of the third inning against Yankees star outfielder Juan Soto. During the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Soto hit a fastball 386 feet to right field for a game-tying solo home run. Even so, Yamamoto settled in just fine after allowing the homer, retiring the final 11 batters he faced before getting pulled in the seventh inning.

As per Langs, Yamamoto turned in the 11th start of at least six innings pitched and one or fewer hits allowed in World Series history. It was the second such start by a Dodgers pitcher, joining Rich Hill (2018).

Yamamoto has been as advertised in his first MLB postseason and has solidified himself as one of the unsung heroes of Los Angeles’ run. Overall, the five-time NPB All-Star has a 3.86 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings this October. 

Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder injury puts damper on Los Angeles’ win

Unfortunately for Los Angeles, its win was overshadowed by injury after Ohtani exited in the seventh inning with a shoulder issue. The presumptive National League MVP questionably tried to steal while the Dodgers led 4-1 but was thrown out to end the inning. Ohtani stayed on the ground before trainers arrived, which quickly sucked the air out of Dodger Stadium.

According to the Japanese television broadcast, Ohtani was picked up on a hot mic saying that his shoulder had popped out of its socket.

As passed along by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters in his postgame news conference that Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder. Ohtani is set to undergo further testing on Sunday, though his strength and range of motion are in a good spot, with Roberts adding that the team is “encouraged.” 

While it remains to be seen whether Ohtani will miss time, the Dodgers can only hope that he returns at some point during the World Series. But if he can’t, it still might not be the end of the world for Los Angeles. After all, the team is up 2-0 in the series despite the fact that Ohtani has just one hit in eight at-bats.