LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even Shohei Ohtani isn’t sure the extent of injuries to his right biceps, left knee and neck that kept him off the mound after the All-Star break and landed him on the injured list for the first time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
asserted
that → keep → Dodgers
“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this, so I think that process is going to happen during the offseason when I’m going have a little bit more time to be able to address it,” he said Friday through a translator.
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he → get → translator
“As of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”
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I → ’ → ?
Ohtani’s health is key to the Dodgers’ hopes of winning a third consecutive World Series championship, starting Saturday against Atlanta in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
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health → win → Series
Manager Dave Roberts isn’t sure what Ohtani can deliver.
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Ohtani → deliver → what
“I know that once the lights turn on, the postseason starts, the focus will be heightened,” he said.
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he → know → ?
“I expect good things.
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I → expect → things
I really do.
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I → do → ?
We just haven’t seen it enough for me to forecast it.”
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me → see → it
The two-way superstar came off the IL with just five games remaining in the regular season.
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superstar → come → season
The Dodgers have said Ohtani is feeling better since his return, and Roberts believes his at-bat quality showed improvement.
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quality → say → improvement
“(My body) feels really good overall,” Ohtani said.
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Ohtani → feel → ?
“I do feel like my swing is in a better place — it feels smooth.
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it → feel → place
Ohtani was single when he went on the IL twice during his six years with the Los Angeles Angels.
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he → go → Angels
He’s now married and a father of two, with his son arriving in late June to join a daughter born in April 2025.
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son → ’ → April
“If I’d been by myself this time, I probably would have had a lot more time to think about everything, and I imagine it would have been much harder mentally,” he said in Japanese.
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he → have → Japanese
“But I had a house full of people around me, so that made a big difference in terms of how I felt.”
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I → have → terms
Ohtani throws right-handed and bats left-handed.
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Ohtani → throw → ?
He explained that he was better able to use his left arm with his daughter.
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he → explain → daughter
His infant son, however, requires two arms to hold, which limited him because of the injury to his right biceps.
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which → require → biceps
Ohtani took live batting practice against countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto earlier in the week.
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Ohtani → take → week
The last time they’d faced each other was in 2017 in Nippon Professional Baseball, when Ohtani struck out and singled off Yamamoto.
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Ohtani → face → Yamamoto
“I think it was a valuable experience for both of us in terms of getting some game-like repetitions.
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it → think → repetitions
I got to take a few at-bats and see all of his different pitches,” Ohtani said in Japanese.
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Ohtani → get → Japanese
It felt fresh and exciting.
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It → feel → ?
His stuff also felt quite different from what I remembered.”
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I → feel → what
Braves’ strained rotation
The Braves’ rotation is seriously strained coming into the Division Series.
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rotation → come → Series
Their three-game win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series forced ace Chris Sale into pitching the final four outs on short rest Thursday night.
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win → force → rest
He threw 95 pitches while starting Game 1, leaving his possible start against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLDS up in the air.
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He → throw → air
“A lot of it’s going to depend on how Chris feels.
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Chris → go → it
Certainly don’t want to jeopardize him and his health,” manager Walt Weiss said Friday.
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Weiss → want → him
“He’s had to grind here recently, so we’re going to err on the side of giving him more rest, if it’s even close.
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it → have → rest
On Thursday, the Braves ruled out starters Martín Pérez (back) and Bryce Elder (knee) for the NLDS.
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Braves → rule → NLDS
“There’s a chance we’re going to have to pitch a lot of innings out of our bullpen, especially the first couple games,” Weiss said.
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Weiss → ’ → bullpen
“We’ll have to add some arms to the roster.”
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We → have → roster
The Braves had a late night after eliminating the Phillies and then traveling Friday to Los Angeles, where the Dodgers have been resting and preparing for five days.
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Dodgers → have → days
“My world is spinning right now,” Weiss said.
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Weiss → spin → ?
High heat
Los Angeles is under an extreme heat warning, and it’s expected to continue into late next week.
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it → expect → week
Saturday’s forecast calls for a high temperature of 100 degrees (38 Celsius) for the day game, when Tarik Skubal takes the mound for the Dodgers.
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Skubal → call → Dodgers
“I know the pitchers are going to have a hard time,” Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani said.
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Ohtani → know → time
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
