Shohei Ohtani will pitch against Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of World Series: report
The Los Angeles Dodgers are making a calculated gamble ahead of the biggest game of the baseball season.
Based on postgame comments from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, it sounds like Shohei Ohtani will get the nod as L.A.’s starting pitcher in Game 7.
“He’s certainly going to be a part of the pitching plan,” Roberts told the media when asked if Ohtani would pitch.
“With Shohei, it could be two innings, or it could be four innings. So I’m not sure where we’re going to slot him. We’re going to have to talk to him first about where he feels most comfortable.”
There’s a rule in the MLB that Ohtani can only bat, or retain his place as a Designated Hitter, if he begins the game as a starting pitcher.
Based on Roberts’ comments, it seems like that’s going to be the course of action.
Although it happens less in the modern era, it’s certainly not uncommon for a manager to go back to his ace starting pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered off of Ohtani in Game 4. (Jayne Kamin/Oncea-Imagn Images)
Back in 2014, Madison Bumgartner pitched five shutout innings on two days’ rest (albeit in a relief role). Josh Beckett took that one step further in 2003, pitching a complete game on three days’ rest, leading the Florida Marlins to a World Series title over the New York Yankees.
The main difference with Ohtani versus other aces who pitched on short rest in Game 7? None of them doubled as a batter.
For one of the greatest athletes of this generation, the Dodgers are seemingly going to test the limits of what’s possible with Ohtani.
Good news for Jays fans? They won the last time Ohtani pitched, and Vladimir Guerrero was able to get to him with a two-run jack in the second inning en route to a 6-2 victory in Game 4.
The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to start Max Scherzer on the mound in Game 7. He was one of the starting pitchers the last time a World Series went to the penultimate game.
Back in 2019, Scherzer pitched five solid innings for the Washington Nationals, as they won their first World Series in franchise history over the Houston Astros.
There have only been two World Series Game 7s in the last decade. The other took place in 2017, when George Springer’s two-run homer was the difference as the Astros beat the Dodgers 5-1.