Shohei Ohtani’s first postseason at-bat wasn’t particularly memorable. He flew out to left field in the first inning of Game 1 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
His second at-bat, though, won’t soon be forgotten. With two men on base and the Dodgers down 3-0, Ohtani smashed a game-tying home run in the bottom of the second inning:
All Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease could do was watch the ball clear the fence as it traveled 372 feet. Meanwhile, the Dodger Stadium faithful roared with excitement as their superstar lived up to the hype of his playoff debut.
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The Padres had taken a 3-0 lead in the first off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani’s countryman who is also making his postseason debut in the National League Division Series.
Ohtani, who hit .310 in the regular season, scored Will Smith, who walked, and Gavin Lux, who singled, to make it 3-3.
In his next at-bat in the fourth inning, Ohtani hit a single that loaded the bases.
Ohtani is getting his first chance on the October playoff stage his after spending the last six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or made the postseason during his tenure.
Ohtani signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers in December.
[Related: How Shohei Ohtani is fulfilling a ‘childhood dream’ this October]
He didn’t pitch this season while rehabbing from a second elbow surgery he had a year ago. That allowed him to focus on his offense, and he exploded, becoming Major League Baseball’s first player with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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