The Los Angeles Dodgers might be nursing a bullpen headache. But Shohei Ohtani continues to be MLB’s cure for the common slump. The two-way phenom hit a historic record on Friday night. He launched a solo homer – “a Max Muncy solo shot”,  to match the career total of a Japanese baseball legend! Despite Ohtani’s offensive fireworks, the Dodgers couldn’t hold on to a 7-3 lead.

With that, they fell to the San Diego Padres in a heart-breaking 11-inning face-off. The two-way phenom left no stone unturned in etching his name in the history books. A first-inning blast put him at a staggering 175 career homers. Now he is tied with Hideki Matsui for the most by a Japanese-born player.  

A Record-Breaking History For Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani addressed this through his interpreter. “I’m happy personally. He’s a legend, a power hitter I looked up to. It’s an honor to be mentioned alongside him.” Soon after this Herculean act, the Dodgers’ offense caught Ohtani’s fire. They further added three more home runs to build a comfortable lead. But, the bullpen woes that have plagued them all season came up again. 

San Diego Padres chipped away at the lead. They scored four runs in the sixth and seventh innings and finally pulled ahead in the 11th. On one hand, Ohtani sizzled at the plate. On the other, the pitching staff grappled with finding consistency. Ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto coughed up three runs early before settling down. The relievers surrendered runs in the sixth, seventh, and eventually the 11th inning. Manager Dave Roberts himself contemplated the missed opportunities. He said, “We had a chance to finish them off, but our swings got bigger, and we didn’t control the strike zone.”

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A Win Amid Ippei Mizuhara’s Theft Admission  

Despite the Dodgers’ defeat, this game showcased Ohtani’s uncompromised talent despite the noise outside. Amid the ongoing investigations about the gambling controversy, Ohtani was declared just a “victim”. In fact, he was not aware of any wire transfers from his bank account by Mizuhara.

To add to it, Ohtani’s camp even confirmed in the initial clubhouse meeting that the first time the Unicorn ever learned about the missing money was in that very meeting. As a man red-hot at the plate, he has better over .450 with four homers in the last eight games of his. Though the win goes to the Padres, Ohtani undoubtedly won the title of a moral victor in this game.