PHILADELPHIA — Want the unexpected?
What about Shohei Ohtani nearly self-destructing in the second inning of his first-ever postseason start as a pitcher?
Praying for late-game heroics?
What about Teoscar Hernández lofting a three-run homer over the wall in right-center field to silence the notoriously hostile crowd at Citizens Bank Park?
Searching for promise?
What about the Dodgers claiming a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of their National League Division Series, clearing a path for them to defend a World Series title that once felt indefensible?
Who would have guessed, Ohtani unraveling in a three-run second inning for the Phillies and striking out four times as a hitter — but the Dodgers finding a way to defeat the Phillies in a wild game in their own house?
The victory was inelegant, but this wasn’t about style. This was about the final result and the Dodgers stole the win on the road that was necessary for them to win this best-of-five series.
They have taken control of this series against the team that could be the greatest obstacle in their pursuit of a World Series repeat, as they have Blake Snell scheduled to pitch Game 2 on Monday and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Game 3 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani was expected to save the Dodgers on Saturday night, but the Dodgers wound up saving him.
He was saved by a two-run double by Kike Hernández in the sixth inning that reduced their deficit to 3-2.
He was saved by a three-run blast by Teoscar Hernández in the seventh inning that moved them in front, 5-3.
He was saved by Tyler Glasnow, Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki, who combined to shut down the lethal Phillies lineup over the last three innings.
Ohtani required saving after a second inning that was less Sho-Time and more Horror-Sho.
The player who spent his entire life building up moments like this looked unprepared. The player for whom no stage was too intense was eaten alive by Citizens Bank Park.
Sho-hei!
Sho-hei!
The three-run push by the Phillies felt as if it unfolded in slow motion, Ohtani losing control of his fastball and the Dodgers losing control of the game.
The inning in question started with Ohtani walking Alec Bohm, which was followed with a single by former Angels teammate Brandon Marsh.
Sho-hei!
Sho-hei!
Ohtani responded by reaching back and throwing a 100.2-mph fastball over the heart of the plate to J.T. Realmuto, who launched a rocket into right-center field.
Heavy-footed right fielder Teoscar Hernandez failed to cut off the ball, which skipped to the outfield wall. Bohm and Marsh scored.
Realmuto reached third base on the play and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Harrison Bader.
Just like that, the Dodgers were down, 3-0.
This was not the start envisioned by the Dodgers, who set up Ohtani to be the star of this series.
The Dodgers didn’t send Ohtani to the mound in either of their two games of the previous round against the Cincinnati Reds.
By starting Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the wild-card series, the Dodgers were able to save Ohtani for Game 1 of their series against the more formidable Phillies.
If a fifth game is required to decide this NLDS, Ohtani would be able to pitch on six-days’ rest.
The Dodgers entered this season reveling in the history about to be made by Ohtani, the NL most valuable player as a designated hitter last season back in the October spotlight to pitch in the postseason for the first time.
“I think as he takes the mound for the bottom half [of the first inning], I’m going to take a moment just to appreciate him doing something unprecedented,” manager Dave Roberts said.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman went as far to make the case that Ohtani was underrated.
“I just don’t think the human brain can comprehend what he does and how difficult it is and how he is elite at both,” Friedman said. “The passion he has for hitting and the passion he has for pitching, it doesn’t seem like there’s enough passion to go around, but there is with him.”
Ohtani didn’t pitch last season, as he was recovering from an elbow operation he underwent in 2023. Friedman recalled the diligence with which he rehabilitated.
“It wasn’t just about pitching for him,” Friedman said. “It was about pitching really well.”
Ohtani didn’t pitch really well on Saturday night, but he will have a chance to pitch really well in the days and weeks ahead.
The Dodgers gave him a chance to.
The post Hernández: Dodgers save Shohei Ohtani, not the other way around, in monumental Game 1 NLDS win appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
