LOS ANGELES — For years, the baseball world has yearned to watch Shohei Ohtani on nights like these. For years, he has changed what we thought was possible from a baseball talent. Last winter, he changed what was possible for himself, signing up not just for hundreds of millions but for a chance, at long last, at October.
Advertisement The calendar has not quite flipped yet, but Ohtani has arrived. The Los Angeles Dodgers came to life Wednesday off the strength of his bat, twice taking a lead on a swing from their $700 million man and feeling every bit of life that came from it. After the first, a two-out rocket off the wall for a double, Ohtani stretched his arms out in triumph.
When he poked a two-strike, two-out single to give the Dodgers the lead for good, he unleashed a roar to a dugout on the verge of an annual celebration. The Dodgers can pop bottles as soon as Thursday after a 4-3 win Wednesday. Win another over the San Diego Padres , and they’ll have won the NL West for the 11th time in 12 seasons.
Ohtani sensed it. Shohei knows clutch! pic.twitter.
com/TgBbraVk2G — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 26, 2024 A night after losing in miserable fashion and bringing at least a hint of potential disaster, they righted the ship. They can thank their otherworldly superstar, who is set to write the next chapter of his awe-inspiring first season with his new club. “He has raised his level of play,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani, who has now reach.
