Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed the media following his team’s 4-2 victory over the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series, where key topics included Shohei Ohtani‘s injury and Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s outstanding pitching performance.
Roberts began by providing an update on Ohtani’s status after he exited the game in the eighth inning, holding his left shoulder. “He had a little left shoulder subluxation,” Roberts explained. “We’re going to get some tests at some point tonight or tomorrow, and then we’ll know more in the next couple days. But the strength was great, the range of motion was good, so we’re encouraged. Obviously, I can’t speculate because we don’t have the scans yet. Once we get the scans, we’ll know more, but with the strength and range of motion good, that’s certainly a positive.”
When pressed for more details about what caused the injury, Roberts noted, “I think he slides on his left knee, right foot forward—that’s my assumption. Then he probably, as he put his hand down, it probably subluxed out. That’s probably what it was.” He acknowledged the concerning nature of the incident, saying, “The scene was very concerning. Anytime one of your players goes down, it’s concerning, but after the range of motion and strength tests, I felt much better about it.”
Despite the setback, the Dodgers managed to keep their focus and secure the win. “It impacted the mood for a minute,” Roberts admitted, “but then you know at that point in time, you got to keep competing out there. We’re still trying to win a baseball game.”
Another focal point of the night was Yamamoto’s dominant pitching. The rookie right-hander continued his impressive postseason by limiting the Yankees to just two runs over seven innings. Roberts expressed his satisfaction with Yamamoto’s performance, saying, “I think that this start for me was probably a little bit better [than his previous one against the Yankees] in the sense of the way he commanded the fastball, especially after that Soto at-bat. He really seemed to lock in.”
Roberts also explained his decision to allow Yamamoto to face the Yankees’ lineup for a third time, despite the data often advising against it. “Watching how he was throwing the baseball, there wasn’t much stress in the game,” Roberts said. “He hasn’t been in the seventh inning since that Yankee game in June. He had thrown up to 76 pitches, so I felt it was a good building block, and I really wanted him to get Stanton.”
Yamamoto’s resilience set the stage for a crucial response from the Dodgers’ offense. After Juan Soto‘s solo homer tied the game in the top of the sixth, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman quickly responded with back-to-back homers in the bottom half of the inning, putting the Dodgers back on top. “That sequence was big,” Roberts said. “Teo’s home run was huge. I thought he just missed clipping one earlier, then got a fastball belt-high and really put a great swing on it. And then Freddie—turning around 97 mph up and in—that’s a different monster.”
As the game reached the ninth inning, Roberts navigated a tense situation with Blake Treinen on the mound. “Blake did a nice job,” Roberts stated. “Soto did a nice piece of hitting, but after that, he struck out the next batter, then there was a base hit, and Chisholm hits a ball down below that was really good. I thought he got back into the at-bat with Rizzo, who leaned in and got hit. I was trying to get Treinen through Volpe, and I just didn’t want to go to Alex [Vesia] too soon.”
The Dodgers’ victory was a testament to the team’s resilience amid a season filled with injuries. When asked how the team would cope if Ohtani were unavailable for the rest of the World Series, Roberts remained optimistic. “I’m not there, Jayson [Stark],” he replied. “I’m expecting him to be in the lineup. We’ve battled through a lot of injuries this year, from starting pitchers to Mookie and Freddie. Hopefully, it’s not Ohtani in this case, but if it is, we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Ohtani’s left shoulder injury does pose challenges, especially considering its significance for a left-handed hitter. “In a vacuum, the left shoulder is better than the right shoulder for a left-handed hitter,” Roberts noted. “But again, we’ll know more once we get the tests.”
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