LOS ANGELES – On a balmy 76-degree Friday night at Dodgers Stadium, the typical sea of white and blue clothing could be seen in the crowd. And as expected for the annual Freeway Series against the Los Angeles Angels, red splotches could also be seen around the stadium.
However, this confrontation is substantially different from that of recent years. Shohei Ohtani, who played the first six seasons of his MLB career with the Angels, is now a Los Angeles Dodger. He will face his former team for the first time since he signed a record 10-year, $700 million free agency deal with the Dodgers.
And for both Dodgers and Angels fans, his performance in the Angels’ 3-2 win over the Dodgers in 10 innings should come as no surprise.
Ohtani hit a 455-foot, two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. The home run set the Dodgers’ season highs for scoring a run and driving in a run in six consecutive games. Ohtani reached base in all four of his plate appearances on Friday.
In the end, the lead did not hold and Taylor Ward’s RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning was the difference.
But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn’t think this reunion between Ohtani and the Angels will change anything for the two-time American League MVP.
“It certainly doesn’t warrant any further conversation,” Roberts said before Friday’s series opener. “I think he’s very grateful for his time in Anaheim and I think he’s certainly happy here. I think it’s one of those things where he’s excited to get here, to get this day to get this over with, because I think he just wants to play baseball.
“For Shohei Ohtani, these questions certainly arise. It shocked many fans. So for him to come a little bit north, it’s a big deal. But I’m sure he just wants to play baseball.”
Along the same lines, when Ohtani was asked if it felt strange playing against his former team after the game, he emphasized that this was just another game.
“Today we are playing at home, so not necessarily. I think it will feel a little different when we play at (Angel) Stadium,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
Outside of Ohtani, it was a quiet night offensively for the Dodgers, who managed just three hits off their superstar slugger. Ohtani’s two-run homer, which knocked down Austin Barnes, was his NL-leading 22nd of the season.
After that, it wouldn’t be until the bottom of the eighth inning when the Dodgers got a hit again, a single by Ohtani, but he was caught stealing second to end the threat.
Between those two Ohtani hits were errant pitches from Dodgers reliever Ryan Yarbrough. In the top of the sixth, the left-hander hit three batters, one of which resulted in the Angels’ first run. The Angels scored again on Mickey Moniak’s sacrifice ground ball to tie the score at 2-2.
Those missed throws turned out to be crucial. In the 10th inning, the Angels took the lead when automatic runner Jo Adell scored on Ward’s single off reliever Evan Phillips.
The Angels snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Dodgers in the Freeway Series, dating back to 2021. Consequently, that streak came at the expense of Ohtani, who has now lost 11 consecutive games in this series.
Ohtani knows that a big difference between playing with the Dodgers and the Angels is that he has the opportunity to play well into October. He never made the playoffs with the Angels. However, he doesn’t want to let the end goal stop him from doing his job day in and day out.
“I really feel like the organization really values a long-term approach. However, at the same time, even though the players understand it, we really value winning the game every day,” Ohtani said. “So for me the focus doesn’t really change.”
Despite that approach, Ohtani also understands that winning more every day and potentially playing for a World Series is more fun than he’s used to.
“I’m sure even more so as we get closer to the second half of the season,” Ohtani said. “It’s something I haven’t really experienced in the past, so I’m looking forward to it.”
