Dodgers Are About To Test Shohei’s Ohtani’s Seemingly Limitless Boundaries

TORONTO — He was 1 of nan first ones dressed and retired of nan clubhouse. Outfitted successful a loose-fitting pinstriped grey suit pinch a cream-colored silk T-shirt, Shohei Ohtani flung a soft achromatic container complete his enarthrosis and wore a achromatic shot headdress backward to complete nan Paris runway look that reasonably screamed insouciance. His overgarment billowed down him appropriately for illustration a cape. He was retired nan doorway of nan Dodgers’ clubhouse connected Halloween nighttime to hole for yet different day pinch history, of which he has much already than David McCullough.

How overmuch much effort tin nan Dodgers inquire of him? How overmuch much greatness tin we request from him? How overmuch much history tin 1 man write?

If location are boundaries to nan wonderment of Ohtani, we person not discovered them. But nan top trial of those limits apt will travel successful Game 7 of nan 121st World Series Sunday nighttime against nan Blue Jays.

Los Angeles head Dave Roberts wasn’t fresh to denote specifics astir his Game 7 pitching plan, but Ohtani, he said, “is surely going to beryllium a part” of it. Because nan only measurement to guarantee Ohtani’s bat remains successful nan lineup is to usage him arsenic a starting pitcher, not a reliever, he could very good beryllium Roberts’s Game 7 starting pitcher.

On 3 days of rest. After throwing 93 pitches successful Game 4 conscionable 17 hours aft reaching guidelines 9 times and fighting done assemblage cramps successful an 18-inning marathon. After 65 innings sounded coming disconnected a 2nd elbow room while throwing much 100 mph pitches than each pitcher pinch astatine slightest 15 starts isolated from Hunter Greene and Tarik Skubal. After taking 801 sheet appearances, 5th astir ever. After hitting 63 location runs and stealing 20 bases, nan first 60-20 subordinate successful an extended season. After scoring 158 runs. Against 41-year-old Max Scherzer, who will beryllium nan oldest of nan 90 pitchers to ever commencement a World Series Game 7 and who will person started much double-elimination games (six) than immoderate pitcher successful history.

If that doesn’t get your humor pumping, get thee to a cardiologist stat.

“I mean, it doesn’t make sense,” said Dodgers lefthander Justin Wrobleski, who provided 1 of 3 scoreless but scary innings of alleviation by nan Los Angeles bullpen to save a 3–1 win for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and group nan shape for nan top Game 7 matchup since Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling went astatine it successful 2001. (Yes, moreover amended than Scherzer vs. Zack Greinke successful 2019).

Wrobleski is simply a feline who survived Tommy John surgery, a surgery nose, getting trim from nan first of 3 assemblage teams, a play wiped retired by Covid and 28 days without pitching entering nan World Series only to get meaningful outs pinch his squad facing elimination. What doesn’t make consciousness moreover to a pitching subsister for illustration himself, he said, is that a pitcher could beryllium taking nan shot for Game 7 aft playing for 6 ½ hours Monday, throwing into nan seventh inning Tuesday, going 0-for-4 Wednesday and scoring nan winning tally Friday aft nan Blue Jays didn’t person their ace, Kevin Gausman, situation transportation to him.

“Nothing makes consciousness pinch that guy,” Wrobleski said. “He's a … I'm not judge if he’s a robot aliases an alien or, aliases which 1 he is, but we will find retired eventually. But no, it's crazy! He’s a special, typical player. Special, typical dude. So, I wouldn’t beryllium amazed if he takes nan shot tomorrow.

“I wouldn’t beryllium amazed astir immoderate he does immoderate time, immoderate it is.”

After six innings of that Game 4 start, connected a basking nighttime aft nan astir exhausting nighttime of baserunning nan World Series has ever seen, Ohtani, who almost ne'er gets lengthy breaks nan measurement astir pitchers do because he must hole for his adjacent at-bat, was approached by pitching coach Mark Prior.

“Got 1 much inning?” Prior asked.

“I’ve sewage three,” Ohtani said pinch dormant seriousness.

Says Roberts, erstwhile asked astir his concerns handing nan shot to Ohtani, “Zero. I mean, not zero, but it’s conscionable watching him. He’s like, ‘Whenever I pitch, if I conscionable transportation and I’m emotion good, I tin support going.’”I tally a hypothetical past Roberts.“You cognize Shohei amended than anyone,” I opportunity to him.

“I do. I do.”

“If he’s sewage nan shot successful his hands, Game 7, to commencement …”

“He’s going to go.”

“…the assurance level is 100 percent?”

“One 100 percent.  I’m going to watch nan crippled and I’m not going to … there's nary transportation counts. Just watching really it looks.”

The Dodgers planned for this eventuality. The remainder of nan world conscionable assumed Tyler Glasnow was starting Game 7. But Roberts texted Glasnow aft Game 4.

“You’re not going to transportation tomorrow [Game 5] but beryllium fresh for Game 6.”

The Game 7 starter usually would beryllium successful nan dugout for Game 6. Glasnow watched Game 6 pinch his spikes connected from nan bullpen, wherever he would beryllium needed to play a immense portion successful 1 of nan wilder endings to a World Series game.

Dodgers head Dave Roberts is connected nan verge of winning back-to-back championships. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

The Dodgers made 3 third-inning runs guidelines up, barely. With 2 outs and a runner connected 2nd guidelines successful nan third, Toronto head John Schneider ordered Gausman to intentionally locomotion Ohtani, moreover though Ohtani was 0-for-8 pinch 4 strikeouts since his exhausting Game 3. Will Smith followed pinch an RBI double.

Gausman sounded excessively cautiously to Freddie Freeman and walked him, possibly knowing nan ice-cold Mookie Betts (3-for-24) was up next. The Blue Jays passim nan bid had blown distant Betts pinch fastballs successful nan zone, a transportation fare he usually devours. He deed .339 connected nan play against in-zone heaters pinch an mean motorboat perspective of 17°. But successful nan World Series, Betts kept dipping underneath those pitches, getting his caput and torso excessively acold successful beforehand of his feet and falling crossed nan sheet connected his follow-through aft a boatload of pop-ups and regular flyballs. He was hitting .100 against Toronto’s in-zone fastballs pinch an absurdly precocious 41° motorboat angle.

With nan count 1-and-1, Gausman threw a precocious fastball. Betts swung nether it.

The adjacent transportation was different precocious fastball. Betts swung nether that one, too, fouling it back.

Now, Gausman had an almost unhittable splitter successful Game 6. It is his favourite transportation to put hitters away. But nan Blue Jays saw nary logic not to support pumping fastballs successful nan area astatine Betts.

Gausman threw a 3rd consecutive heater. Betts this clip kept his plaything level flatter and drove nan shot connected a statement done nan near broadside for a two-strike, two-out, two-run dagger of a single. Launch angle: 6°.

“They were conscionable reference nan game,” said Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc. “In that spot they astir apt felt for illustration they had done capable harm passim nan crippled pinch nan split, and they thought they could get 1 by him.

“It was conscionable a really bully swing. He’s incredibly talented and he is successful a bully spot. He tin do conscionable astir thing up there.”

The Dodgers successful nan ninth would request Glasnow and 2 precocious IQ shot plays from Kiké Hernández to make nan runs stand. With 1 connected against Roki Sasaki, Addison Barger smashed a agelong alert shot to center. Improbably, nan shot lodged betwixt nan crushed and nan padding of nan wall. As centerfielder Justin Dean raced aft it, he turned and looked complete his near shoulder. He saw and heard Hernández, nan hustling near fielder, throwing his arms up and declaring “Dead ball!” Dean took his cue and instantly did likewise, frankincense rendering nan play instantly dead, stopping nan runners astatine 2nd and third.

Roberts summoned Glasnow. Incredibly, nan crippled was complete 3 pitches later. Ernie Clement popped retired connected nan first pitch. With Andrés Giménez batting, coach Dino Ebel, who positions nan Dodgers outfielders, sewage nan attraction of Hernández and rubbed his hands up and down his chest, nan awesome to play shallow. The Dodgers each bid person played Giménez shallow to nan other field.

Two pitches later, Giménez drove a transportation to near section that initially looked for illustration a run-scoring single. But Hernández’s shallow positioning made it easy for him to get location connected nan catch. An overeager Barger drifted excessively far, reasoning nan shot would not beryllium caught and was doubled up connected a speedy propulsion from Hernández. 

It was a historically bad mistake. Barger needed to cheque nan outfielders’ extent earlier nan transportation and understand that moreover if that shot should person bounced successful beforehand of Hernández, he would not person scored. Eagerness and younker costs him. George Springer, 1 of nan top sluggers successful World Series history, would person been nan adjacent batter.

Having thrown only 3 pitches—though very high-leverage astatine that—Glasnow could good travel backmost to commencement Game 7. But this is wherever nan Ohtani Rules, which MLB designed specifically to accommodate his two-way uniqueness, hamstring Roberts and his pitching plans.

If Ohtani starts connected nan mound and DHs, per usual, he tin stay successful nan crippled arsenic nan DH erstwhile removed from pitching. But if he starts arsenic DH and enters nan crippled arsenic a alleviation pitcher, nan Dodgers would suffer nan DH erstwhile Ohtani is removed arsenic a pitcher.

One much complication to utilizing Ohtani successful relief: according to Michael Hill, vice president of on-field operations for MLB: upon nan first mound sojourn to Ohtani arsenic a reliever he must beryllium moved to different position, specified arsenic outfield, to support him successful nan game, successful which lawsuit nan caller pitcher would return nan batting spot of nan fielder Ohtani replaced.

The Dodgers do not want to beryllium without Ohtani’s bat successful immoderate circumstance. The only measurement to guarantee that is nan lawsuit and to usage him arsenic a pitcher is to commencement him connected nan mound.

It’s been 9 years since anyone started World Series Game 7 connected 3 days of rest. That commencement did not spell good for Corey Kluber of Cleveland against nan Cubs (six innings, 4 runs, nary strikeouts). The past pitcher to commencement and triumph connected short remainder was Chris Carpenter of St. Louis backmost successful 2011, ray years agone erstwhile it comes to really nan workload for pitchers has changed.

Starting pitchers connected 3 days of remainder successful nan postseason since 2020 are 4–12. Ohtani has started erstwhile connected 3 days of remainder successful MLB: April 21, 2023. But that was coming disconnected a rain-shortened commencement of conscionable 2 innings and 30 pitches. He past made a alleviation quality successful 2023 successful nan World Baseball Classic final, famously striking retired past Angels teammate Mike Trout.

Ohtani is nan azygous top motor to nan maturation of nan crippled complete nan past fewer years. He, on pinch Yamamoto and Sasaki, and nan Blue Jays, who are Canada’s team, person made this nan astir genuinely world bid ever.

Why not person nan bid and nan play travel down to 1 game: Ohtani, connected short rest, against Scherzer, nan 41-year-old legend. The champion subordinate successful history successful his premier against nan astir prolific eventual crippled pitcher successful his twilight.

Before Roberts huddled pinch his staff, nan beforehand agency and yet Ohtani himself, to nail down erstwhile Ohtani will transportation successful Game 7, he said, “Right now, there’s nary incorrect answer.”

He is correct astir that assumption. It’s astonishing erstwhile you extremity and deliberation astir it. After taking 801 at-bats and playing successful 174 games, 17 of them arsenic a two-way subordinate pinch a twice-repaired elbow, Ohtani is apt to beryllium pitching nan last crippled of nan play connected short remainder aft a commencement —something nary Dodger has done this year. There is nary incorrect answer—not erstwhile nan reply is Ohtani.

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