Shohei Ohtani uses ‘device’ to help deal with World Series injury

Shortly after partially dislocating his left shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series, Shohei Ohtani was confident he would return for Game 3.

How certain?

The Dodgers star sent a text message to teammates Saturday night as they headed to the airport for a flight to New York.

“He said he was going to be fine and that was it,” Max Muncie said Monday before the Dodgers beat the Yankees 4-2 in Game 3 of the World Series. “He said he was going to play, so we’ve all put it off for now.”

True to his word, Ohtani returned to the leadoff position as the DH and reached base with a leadoff walk and a hit-by-pitch in the ninth.

Ohtani injured his shoulder trying to steal second base on Saturday. According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, he was diagnosed with a subluxation (partial dislocation) of his left shoulder, but further examination showed no further damage.

That left Ohtani with the ability to play based on his pain tolerance.

“If it was the right shoulder, I think it would have affected my swing,” Ohtani said through his translator. “Luckily it was my left, so I don’t think it’s real.”

Ohtani added that he wore a “device” during Monday’s game to help keep the shoulder warm. He kept his shoulder when he was on the bases to make sure he didn’t use it if he needed to slide into a base.

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“The pain went away, so I felt pretty good,” he said.

Roberts doubts Ohtani will try to steal bases the rest of this streak, but the slugger remains a threat at the plate.

Even if Ohtani is less than 100 percent, just his presence in the penalty box is enough to scare opponents.

“Regardless of what the limitations a pitcher (Ohtani) thinks there may or may not be, not a lot of guys are willing to take that risk,” Roberts said. “I just expect him to control the strike zone, let the bats come to him, swing and fire when the ball is in the strike zone. We’re just very grateful to have him in the lineup.”

Ohtani entered the day with a .260/.403/.460 slash line with three homers and 10 RBI in the postseason. Two of those homers were hit against the Mets in the NLCS.

“When you keep the best player in the game in the lineup, that’s usually good for your team,” Muncie said. “He had some big moments for us and we expect some more big moments from him.”

Roberts’ only regret is that he wasn’t part of the text thread in which Ohtani told his teammates he was fine and would continue playing.

“It would be helpful if I could see the thread,” Roberts said. “I’d rather sleep on Saturday night. I wasn’t familiar with it until today, so it would be helpful.”

Ohtani entered the day with a .260/.403/.460 slash line with three homers and 10 RBI. Two of those homers were hit against the Mets in the NLCS.