Shohei Ohtani Expected to start Game 7 on the mound tonight. The two-way star will rest for three days after pitching six innings in Tuesday’s Game 4. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, that he “not sure” How long will Ohtani pitch. Roberts added that he hopes “Keep expectations in mind and read and react“.
Ohtani has evolved into a pitcher this season after suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder in the 2024 World Series. He didn’t take the mound for the first time until mid-June. Since Ohtani is such a vital part of the offense, he can’t take a few weeks off to rehab. Instead, he has to rebuild at the major league level. Ohtani pitched one inning in each of his first two appearances. By the end of July, he ended up playing three games. Ohtani went five innings in his final game in August, then ended his regular season with his first six-inning outing.
Ohtani has had at least five days of rest between each pitch this season. The spread of the playoff schedule (and Los Angeles’ success) has given him more time to rest. Ohtani has 12 days between games in the NLDS and NLCS, and 10 days before his first World Series appearance.
While workload has been an issue for Ohtani, performance has not been. He posted a 2.87 ERA in 47 regular-season innings, and his xFIP (2.45) and SIERA (2.67) were even better. Ohtani entered the playoffs on a three-game scoreless start. He then got off to great starts in the NLDS and NLCS, winning both games. Toronto did allow Ohtani to allow four earned runs in Game 3, though he struck out six and again went six innings.
Game 7 is usually an all-hands-on-deck situation for pitchers. This may include Yoshinobu Yamamoto? A video by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times revealed the Game 6 winner throwing before tonight’s game. Yamamoto is not expected to play tonight, but Roberts was asked about his status for Game 7. “He must be interested“, Roberts told reporters, including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Yamamoto followed up his dominant performance throughout Game 2 with another strong performance on Friday. He threw 96 pitches in six innings and allowed just one run. Yamamoto now has a 1.56 ERA in 34 2/3 postseason innings. Without Ohtani’s impressive contributions, he might have been in the spotlight for World Series MVP. Yamamoto seems ready to go in 2001 Randy Johnsonhe could be pretty deep on the depth chart tonight. Roberts simply uses repeaters Sasaki Riki and Justin Wrobleski Game 6, plus one start Tyler Glasnow. All other pitchers, including Game 5 starters Blake Snellat least rest for a few days.
Roberts essentially ran the same lineup tonight at running back, except for the flip Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernandez. this means Mookie Bates Back to the cleanup site. Roberts advanced a scuffling Betts from second to third in the fifth, then moved him to fourth in the sixth. The move paid off as Betts landed the biggest hit of the game. With the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, the shortstop lined out Kevin Gausman A fastball passed through left and scored two runs. Before the single, Betts was 3-for-24 in the series. It was his first RBI since Game 3 of the NLCS.
Muncy will move up to fifth place for the second time in the series. Both examples object to Max Scherzer. While right-handers have excelled against Scherzer this season, left-handers have far more power. The veteran hit 13 homers and had a .545 slugging percentage in 200 games against left-handed hitters. This lineup adjustment allows Muncy to see Scherzer earlier.
