Facing a 5-5 tie against the winless Atlanta Braves, three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win last night’s game for the Los Angeles Dodgers, improving their record to 8-0, which is the best start to a season ever by a reigning World Series champion.
“I was really looking for a good pitch to hit but also [was] making sure that Mookie (Betts) gets an at-bat,” Ohtani said after the game via a translator.
“He has his moment on every single night… He keeps getting in these situations and moments where you’re expecting the unthinkable out of him, and he rarely disappoints. And that’s really saying something,” said Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy following the win. “For me, when he stepped up to the plate there, it was almost like, ‘Well, alright. He’s gonna end this right here.’ I wasn’t shocked at all. It’s still shocking what he does, but it was almost like kind of to be expected at this point.”
Shohei Ohtani, man.
The biggest name in the sport. Coming to the plate with a chance to do something incredible on the night of his own MVP Bobblehead giveaway.
Entire crowd stands as one hoping to see something memorable.
First pitch. Bang. Legend.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 3, 2025
Amazingly, the walk-off home run came on the same evening that the Dodgers were giving out Shohei Ohtani bobblehead figurines to fans.
“I just wanted to live up to the expectation of all the fans today to make sure I perform,” Ohtani said. “It’s actually an honor to feel the pressure because that means there’s a lot of expectations, and I just change that to something that’s more of a positive.”
“Ya know, Shohei being Shohei at the end. What better way to finish the game on his bobblehead night than with a walk-off homer?” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts during a postgame interview.
Ohtani’s ninth-inning home run completed a five-run comeback for the Dodgers. LA has already secured come-from-behind victories in six of the team’s first eight games.
Ohtani, inevitable. pic.twitter.com/Jq70dPvSc5
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 3, 2025
“What it is – in my opinion – is we just continue to take good at-bats,” Dave Roberts explained. “Just kind of being able to take walks [and] work counts allows us to kind of get back into games without, sometimes, getting hits. And then, we can kinda wait for that big hit, which we’ve gotten in this first eight games.”
“I’m just ecstatic that the fans got to see this really good game today, and I was able to perform in front of these fans tonight,” Ohtani added. “Even though we may give up some runs, we find a way to come back and win. And when we’re winning these games, or we’re scoring early, I think our pitching staff does an amazing job keeping the win.”
The Dodgers are off tonight as they travel to Pennsylvania, where they’ll take on the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow night. The first pitch of that game is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. EDT.
