It was a perfect setup. All bases loaded, the last ball remaining and just two runs needed to win. The fact that it was Shohei Ohtani standing on the plate made it all the more surreal. Would the superstar get his first iconic moment for the Los Angeles Dodgers? As fans watched with baited breaths, the situation got even more tense. Ohtani was down 2-1 and had to do something. And then he did but it wasn’t what the fans expected. 

Shohei Ohtani’s bat hit the ball. In Shotime’s words “I saw the ball well and I thought I hit it well.” But instead of going long, the ball went high, ending up as a pop fly.  The Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5. What was to be a heroic moment turned out to be a surprising situation of $700 million Shohei Ohtani failing at the clutch moment. 

Yes, many will remember only that moment but that doesn’t make the game any less good. After all, it was a classic matchup where the momentum constantly shifted between the two teams. Where the initial six innings saw the Men in Blue leading 2-0, the 7th inning saw the Cardinals hit 5 runs! That suddenly left the Dodgers playing catchup and they almost did but the 10th inning run by the Birds proved too much for them.

For the Cardinals, this was a much-needed break after two consecutive defeats. But the positives were there for the Los Angeles Dodgers as well. After all, Mookie Betts hit his 4th consecutive homerun and continued his fine form. Similarly, Yoshinobu Yamamoto found his sharpness after a disastrous debut. The ace gave away only two hits while pitching 5 scoreless innings.

Still, for Ohtani to miss such a great chance is a little demoralizing. Even the superstar agrees that he could’ve done better but misjudged the situation.

Shohei Ohtani rues the miss that could’ve made him an iconic Dodgers star

According to the Dodgers Beat reporter Juan Toribio, Shohei Ohtani expressed disappointment at failing in that game. The Japanese star agreed that “ideally” he should’ve tied the game by a walk or a single. But he saw the ball well and felt he could hit it well but it ended up being a “pop fly.” But Shotime quickly noticed the issue that led to that wrong hit. “Something to do with my timing and just the distance I feel between myself and the ball,” Ohtani said.

But fans aren’t too angry at him; after all, things like this happen all the time it may have given some ammunition to the Dodgers’ rivals. The fact that it was their $700 million star who popped up has only made the banter worse. Still, with a 3-2 start to the season, the Blue Crew are in a great spot. With over 155 games left to play, misses like these are digestible for now.

Read more: Shohei Ohtani Speaks on Home Debut Win, Lauds Dodgers’ Hitting Despite His Bad Home Run Luck