Shohei Ohtani made his World Series pitching debut in Game 4, which he deemed a regrettable outing due to falling short of a personal goal to complete seven innings against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Ohtani’s final line saw him charged for four earned runs, with two of those coming across after Anthony Banda inherited some traffic in the seventh inning.
Following the Dodgers’ loss, Ohtani expressed a willingness, if not desire, to be pitch again before the World Series ends. That could come as early as Friday night at Rogers Centre, with the Los Angeles Dodgers facing elimination.
While Ohtani is open to contributing out of the bullpen, that might not be a possibility for Game 6.
“You know, we’ll see how he comes in tomorrow. But right now, obviously, when you’re facing elimination, then you’ve got to have those conversations,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the team’s workout on Thursday night.
“So whatever it takes for us to win tomorrow. And obviously Yamamoto’s going, and then we’re going to do whatever we can to put our best foot forward on the run prevention side and then on the creation side in scoring runs too.”
Given that pitching on Friday would be just two days of rest for Ohtani, the more likely scenario has him taking the mound again if the Dodgers can force a Game 7. But the role is not necessarily set because of how MLB’s two-way player rule is written.
It’s plausible Ohtani would be utilized as an opener in Game 7 in order to then remain in the Dodgers lineup after exiting the game as a pitcher.
“I think we would consider everything. And it’s more of just kind of doing whatever we can to get through tomorrow and then pick up the pieces and then see what’s the best way to attack a potential Game 7,” Roberts said. “So everything should be on the table and will be, for sure.”
Can Shohei Ohtani play outfield?
Among the possibilities the Dodgers are considering to some extent is having Ohtani play the outfield.
“We’ll talk about everything,” Roberts reiterated. “So we’ll kind of talk through whatever is the best. Like I said before, if we get to that point, we’ll see. But he’s not going to play the outfield tomorrow, I do know that. But if we get to Game 7, we’ll have a good discussion about everything.”
Ohtani has logged just 8.1 innings across seven games (six in right field, one in left field) as an outfielder in his career. All of Ohtani’s time as an outfielder came with the Los Angeles Angels during the 2021 season.
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