LOS ANGELES — On a balmy 76-degree Friday night at Dodgers Stadium, the typical sea of white and blue could be seen among the crowd. And as expected for the annual Freeway Series against the Los Angeles Angels, red spots could also be seen around the stadium.
However, this matchup is substantially different from what it has been in recent years. Shohei Ohtani, who played the first six seasons of his MLB career with the Angels, is now a Los Angeles Dodger. He’s facing his old team for the first time since signing a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
And for both Dodgers and Angels fans, his performance in the Angels’ 3-2 victory over the Dodgers in 10 innings shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Ohtani hit a 455-foot, two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Dodgers a 2–0 lead. The home run set the Dodgers’ season record for scoring a run and running in six consecutive games. Ohtani reached base in all four appearances on Friday.
In the end, the lead didn’t hold and Taylor Ward’s RBI single in the tenth inning was the difference.
But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn’t believe this reunion between Ohtani and the Angels changes anything for the two-time AL MVP.
“It certainly doesn’t warrant any further conversation,” Roberts said ahead of Friday’s series premiere. “I think he’s very grateful for his time in Anaheim and he’s certainly happy here. I think it’s one of those things where he’s excited to get here, on this day to get here and get it over with, because I think he just wants to play baseball.
“For Shohei Ohtani, these questions certainly happen. He impacted 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.”
In a similar vein, when Ohtani was asked if it was weird playing against his old team after the game, he emphasized how this was just another game.
“We play at home today, so not necessarily. I think it will be a little different when we play [Angel] Stadium,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
Outside of Ohtani, it was a quiet night offensively for the Dodgers, who managed just three hits outside of their superstar slugger. Ohtani’s two-run homer, which hit Austin Barnes, was his National League-leading 22nd of the season.
After that, it wasn’t until the bottom of the eighth inning that the Dodgers got a base hit again, a single by Ohtani, but he was caught stealing at second to end the threat.
In between those two hits by Ohtani, there were missed throws by Dodgers reliever Ryan Yarbrough. In the top of the sixth, the left-hander struck out three batters, one of which resulted in the Angels’ first run. The Angels scored again on Mickey Moniak’s sacrifice fly to tie the score at 2-2.
These errant throws proved crucial. In the 10th inning, the Angels took the lead when automatic runner Jo Adell scored on Ward’s only reliever Evan Phillips.
The Angels snapped a 10-game winning streak against the Dodgers in the Freeway Series that dates back to 2021. Consequently, that streak came at the expense of Ohtani, who has now lost 11 consecutive games in this series.
Ohtani knows the big difference between playing for the Dodgers and the Angels is that he has the chance to play until October. He never made the playoffs with the Angels. However, he doesn’t want to let the end goal stop him from doing his day-to-day work.
“I really feel like the organization really values a long-term approach. But at the same time, even though the players understand that, we really value winning the game every day,” Ohtani said. “So for me, the approach doesn’t really change.”
Despite that approach, Ohtani also understands that with more wins every day and potentially playing in the World Series, it’s more fun than he’s used to.
“I’m sure even more so as we move into 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.”
