Shohei Ohtani Tonight Game 7 starts on the mound. The two-time star will pitch on three days’ rest after throwing six innings in Game 4 on Tuesday. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters: including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Registerthat he “not sure” how long Ohtani will pitch. Roberts added that he “wantsremember expectations and read and respond.”
After tearing his left shoulder labrum in the 2024 World Series, Ohtani was brought along slowly as a pitcher this season. It was not until mid-June that he first appeared on the hill. Because he is a crucial part of the offense, Ohtani couldn’t take a few weeks off for a rehab assignment. Instead, he had to rebuild at the Major League level. Ohtani pitched one inning in each of his first two appearances. By the end of July, he had finally built up three innings. Ohtani got through five innings in his final start of August, then ended his regular season with his first six-inning outing.
Ohtani has had at least five days of rest between each pitching appearance this season. The staggered postseason schedule (along with LA’s success) has given him even more free time. Ohtani had 12 days between his NLDS and NLCS starts, then another 10 days until his first World Series appearance.
While workload was an issue for Ohtani, performance was not. He posted a 2.87 ERA over 47 innings in the regular season, and his xFIP (2.45) and SIERA (2.67) were even better. Ohtani posted three consecutive scoreless starts en route to the playoffs. He then posted quality starts in the NLDS and NLCS, winning both matches. Toronto did reach Ohtani for four earned runs in Game 3, though he struck out six and again threw six innings.
Game 7s are typically all-hands-on-deck situations for the pitching staff. Could that possibly be included? Yoshinobu Yamamoto? A video of Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times surfaced from the winner of Game 6 that had a lead going into tonight’s game. Yamamoto was not expected to be available tonight, but Roberts was asked about his status for Game 7.”He’s definitely interestedRoberts told reporters, including Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.
Yamamoto followed up his dominant complete game in Game 2 on Friday with another stellar performance. He allowed just one earned run over six innings and threw 96 pitches. Yamamoto now has a 1.56 ERA over 34 2/3 innings this postseason. Without Ohtani’s impressive contributions, he would be in the World Series MVP conversation. While Yamamoto seems ready for 2001 Randy Johnsonhe’s probably pretty deep on the depth chart tonight. Roberts only had to use relievers Roki Sasaki And Justin Wrobleski in Game 6, plus an inning of starter Tyler Glasnowalthough he only threw three pitches. Every other pitcher, including Game 5 starter Blake Snellhas had at least a few days off.
Roberts is mostly at running back same setup tonight, outside of flip-flopping Max Muncy And Teoscar Hernández. That means Mookie Betts is back at the cleanup spot. Roberts bumped the struggling Betts from second to third in the order for Game 5, then moved him to fourth for Game 6. The move paid off, as Betts came through with the biggest hit of the game. With the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, the short stop hit a line drive Kevin Gausman fastball through the left side and drove in a pair of runs. Betts had gone 3-for-24 in the series prior to the single. It was his first RBI since Game 3 of the NLCS.
Muncy will move up to fifth in the order for the second time this series. Both instances have been encountered Max Scherzer. While the righties reached a higher level against Scherzer this season, the lefties had much more power. The veteran yielded 13 home runs and a strong .545 slugging percentage in 200 at-bats against left-handed hitters. The lineup adjustment allows Muncy to look at Scherzer sooner.
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