A heckler next to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout spent his entire Sunday giving an earful to the visitors, including a nonstop barrage of digs and chirps at Shohei Ohtani for his hitless performance in a portentous weekend series against the San Diego Padres.
When Ohtani crushed his 45th homer and delivered the knockout blow in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory, the normally decorous three-time Most Valuable Player detoured on his way back to the dugout to slap hands — and get the last word — with the chagrined Padres fan.
The Dodgers loved to see it, along with just about everything else that transpired in the final four innings of a win that evened the National League West race yet again with 31 games left.
Photo: AP
“It was very out of character from Shohei, [but the heckler] was wearing him out the whole game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So it was good to see Shohei initiate a high-five from him. That was great. That was fun. It was good to see Shohei show his personality.”
Ohtani did not speak to reporters after the game, but he did not need a loudmouth fan to tell him that he was none for 10 with two walks in the series before his homer off Yuki Matsui.
His fellow Dodgers had already delivered by then, with rookie Dalton Rushing’s tiebreaking three-run shot in the seventh inning sandwiched between clutch homers in back-to-back innings by Freddie Freeman.
“I think he was just kind of talking to Shohei the whole game, so I’m glad Shohei was able to give him a little something else to cheer about,” Freeman said with a grin.
Freeman and the rest of the Dodgers heard plenty of yapping from the stands during the weekend in the latest chapter of what might be the liveliest rivalry in the sport. The noise intensified as Los Angeles lost the first two games while managing just five combined hits — but the defending champions still managed to head home smiling and even with the Padres at 74-57.
When asked if the rivalry is the best in baseball, Rushing replied: “I think so. I think it’s pretty safe to say. You see the atmosphere we play in, whether it’s here or in LA. I think it’s pretty special. There’s something to it. There’s a lot of superstars on the field, and it’s fun to play in these games.”
Both teams could find reasons to be optimistic after wrapping up the regular-season matchups between two World Series contenders that have also met in three of the past five post-seasons, with the Dodgers winning two of those matchups.
The Dodgers have already won the season series with San Diego 9-4, giving them the tiebreaker if the clubs are still even 31 games from now.
San Diego still took two of three at the weekend with phenomenal starting pitching from a club that already has a bullpen that could be the best in the majors — the poor performance on Sunday notwithstanding, of course.
Jeremiah Estrada gave up a homer in his second consecutive game when Rushing connected, while Wandy Peralta and Matsui also surrendered late homers, but Yu Darvish, Nestor Cortes and Nick Pivetta combined to allow just four hits and three runs by the Dodgers over 18 innings. In a short October series, the Padres are confident they have got the arms to match Ohtani, Freeman and the Dodgers’ powerful lineup.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. “We’re playing outstanding baseball, so I don’t tend to get too caught up in today. Today we were disappointed. Didn’t happen for us. We couldn’t be more thrilled. We’re tied for our division lead and expect to go win it.”
The Dodgers have won 11 of the past 12 National League West titles, while the Padres have not won the division since 2006. San Diego are closing in on their fourth playoff berth in six seasons during the longest run of sustained success in the team’s history.
While the rivals do not meet again in the regular season, both teams acknowledge they would be watching what the other does down the stretch.
“We’re going to treat the next however many games until the regular season is over like we’re neck-and-neck with them,” Rushing said. “Whether we’re tied in the division or we’re eight games out, we’re going to treat it like it’s the same, and I think it’s a good thing. You hold a competitive edge finishing out the regular season and that’s what you kind of carry into the post-season.”
Elsewhere, the Mariners sank the Athletics 11-4, the Pirates blanked the Rockies 4-0, the Braves edged the Mets 4-3, the Phillies pipped the Nationals 3-2, the Orioles overcame the Astros 3-2, the Royals tamed the Tigers 10-8 and the White Sox thrashed the Twins 8-0.
The Rangers routed the Guardians 5-0, the Marlins mastered the Blue Jays 5-3, the Cubs edged the Angels 4-3, the Reds downed the Diamondbacks 6-1, the Giants beat the Brewers 4-3, the Rays stung the Cardinals 7-2 and the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 7-2.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
RSS