The official people within the yellow windbreakers scrambled into the suitable subject pavilion — excessive and deep into the pavilion, following the arc of the ball. Shohei Ohtani had his first residence run as a Dodger, and Workforce Yellow Windbreaker was on a mission to safe the milestone ball.
After eight video games on two continents with out a residence run, the $700-million man — the one who led the American League in residence runs final yr — hit his first residence run Wednesday, within the seventh inning, in his thirty seventh at-bat this season. To not say Los Angeles had been anxious or something, however Miguel Rojas had hit his second residence run of the season earlier within the recreation.
The house runs — the 430-foot one from the designated slugger, and the one from the light-hitting shortstop — highlighted the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Workforce Yellow Windbreaker delivered the fan who caught Ohtani’s residence run to Ohtani himself, who fortunately swapped a bat, a ball, two caps and some moments of dialog with the fan for what he referred to as “a really particular ball.”
The adjective everybody used within the Dodgers clubhouse to explain Ohtani was “relieved.” Rojas used it. Supervisor Dave Roberts used it. Ohtani himself used it.
“Truthfully, very relieved that I used to be in a position to get my first homer,” he mentioned by way of interpreter Will Ireton. “It’s been some time.”
Ohtani’s final regular-season residence run got here seven months and 11 days earlier. His subsequent postseason residence run might be his first.
The Dodgers accomplished a three-game sweep of the Giants, and their file stands at 7-2, atop the Nationwide League West as ordinary. They’ve scored at the very least 5 runs in every of their video games. So right here we go once more: The Dodgers are on tempo to win 126 video games!
That is what we do that time of yr, yearly. The hapless Colorado Rockies have performed seven video games, and already they’re 5 video games out of first place.
The Dodgers have began the season 7-2 in three of the final 4 non-pandemic seasons. They gained 111 video games in a kind of three seasons, 106 in every of the opposite two. That is what they do.
“There have been occasions I can keep in mind, 4 years in the past in Could, we have been actually horrible,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “We have been proper round .500. It’s simply extra of constant to play and attempt to win that day. … We’re not making an attempt to get to the postseason at present. We’re making an attempt to simply win. Win or lose, we do it the subsequent day. I feel that’s the key sauce.”
In none of these large three seasons — the 111-win one, and the 2 106-win ones — did the Dodgers advance to the World Sequence.
“Whenever you get kicked within the enamel a pair years and underachieve,” Roberts mentioned, “so far as not successful the World Sequence, you’ve expertise, after which you’ve guys which might be obsessed and hungry, and being the aggressor, that’s a superb factor.
“Not that there was complacency, however there’s a completely different form of fireplace with our guys.”
Journeyman Dinelson Lamet, 31, the fourth Dodgers pitcher and the final one obtainable after Tuesday’s bullpen recreation, labored an ideal ninth for his first main league save.
The victory went to Tyler Glasnow (2-0) in an intriguing high quality begin.
For all of the protecting measures the Dodgers implement to attempt to maintain their pitchers — inning limits, pitch counts, additional days between begins, beneficiant use of the injured lists — they didn’t implement a elementary precept of in-game analytics.
The precept is definitely mentioned and understood: Don’t let your beginning pitcher face opposing hitters for a 3rd time. That precept is a basis for the five-inning starter, and the 13-man pitching workers.
Usually, the statistics bear that out, as a pitcher’s efficiency tends to wane on a 3rd journey by means of the lineup. However the Dodgers didn’t pay Glasnow $136.5 million to be simply one other arm.
They paid him to be an ace, with an influence arm that would propel him by means of that third journey.
In his Dodgers debut, Glasnow confronted two batters on the third time by means of the order. He retired them each.
In his second begin, he confronted 4 batters on the third time by means of the order. He retired all of them.
On Wednesday, in his third begin, Glasnow took a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning, and into his third journey by means of the San Francisco lineup. He obtained the primary out, however then LaMonte Wade Jr. walked, Jorge Soler doubled, and Michael Conforto singled residence each runners to slender the Dodgers’ result in one.
Glasnow accomplished the inning, however he threw 28 pitches within the inning and 100 in all. He has not thrown greater than 103 in a recreation since 2021.
“The way in which that our rotation is about up, with additional days (between begins), we’re going to do that with a number of our guys,” Roberts mentioned. “That’s one thing that we’re dedicated to.”
Because the Dodgers get deeper into the season and pitchers construct up their pitch counts, Roberts mentioned the workforce would ask not solely Glasnow however Bobby Miller, James Paxton and Gavin Stone to navigate a 3rd journey by means of the lineup.
“We’re going to push these guys within the video games that they begin,” Roberts mentioned. “They’re going to should go 23, 24 hitters. That’s my expectation each time they take the mound.”
That may be a story to look at into the summer season. On this third day of April, the story was Ohtani. The Dodgers’ social media accounts posted video of the house run with this caption in capital letters: “THE FIRST OF MANY FOR SHOHEI OHTANI.”
Nonetheless, on the evening Ohtani hit his first residence run of the season, Rojas hit his second. How for much longer would possibly Ohtani must overtake Rojas?
“I hope,” Rojas mentioned with a large smile, “it doesn’t take lengthy.”