Shohei Ohtani steals spotlight from his dog with homer, two steals in Dodgers' victory

Wednesday night wasn’t the first time Shohei Ohtani has stolen the show. It was, however, the first time he had to snatch the spotlight away from his dog.

On a day fans began lining up outside the Dodger Stadium gates at 8 in the morning, staking out a spot in line to get a bobblehead with Ohtani holding his dog, Dekopin (aka Decoy), in his arms, both owner and pet put on a spectacle in the Dodgers’ 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Dekopin received the night’s first big ovation, delivering the ceremonial first “pitch” by picking up a ball in his mouth and running to home plate, where Ohtani was crouched like a catcher waiting.

From there, though, it was Ohtani who guided the Dodgers through a back-and-forth game with a fellow World Series contender in Baltimore, going two for four with a home run (his 42nd of the season), two steals (giving him 42 on the season) and three runs scored.

“I’m telling you,” manager Dave Roberts said, “any big moment, he seems to rise up to the occasion.”

Ohtani opened the scoring with a leadoff home run in the first inning, his first since last Friday’s 40-40-clinching grand slam on a line drive to right.

He was in the middle of the action in a four-run third inning, lining an opposite-field single three at-bats before Teoscar Hernández launched a go-ahead, three-run homer.

Read more: Watch Shohei Ohtani's dog, Decoy, throw out first pitch at Dodger Stadium

Then in the fifth, Ohtani almost single-handedly gave the Dodgers some insurance. After belting a line drive that Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn failed to catch at first, Ohtani went from first to third on a stolen base and wild pitch and eventually scored on a two-out error, doubling what was only a one-run lead.

“It’s a really special night,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.

After starting August with a two-week slump — Ohtani batted just .181, albeit with seven homers, from Aug. 2 to 19 — the favorite for National League most valuable player is ending the month on a tear.

Wednesday was his fifth multihit game in the last seven. It was his 10th game with at least one home run and one steal. And, before striking out in his final at-bat in the seventh, he was serenaded with “M-V-P!” chants from a sold-out crowd of 53,290 that, even more than usual, was there for him.

And his dog.

“I heard that Decoy was going to throw the first pitch and — I’m impressed that the dog was already that trained,” Roberts said. “I guess if it’s Shohei’s dog, nothing should be that surprising. That was pretty impressive.”

Ohtani said he and Decoy had been practicing his first pitch for three weeks, including a “dry run” at the stadium.

“I hope to buy some special snack for him,” Ohtani said.

There were some nervous moments early on for the Dodgers.

After Ohtani’s leadoff blast, the Orioles struck for three runs in a second-inning rally fueled by poor defense. With one out, third baseman Max Muncy misfired on a throw to first. One batter later, Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins struck out on a pitch by Walker Buehler that was in the dirt, but Mullins reached base after catcher Will Smith seemingly forgot to throw the ball to first.

“I don’t know what team was playing defense that second inning,” Roberts said.

Instead of the inning being over, Ramón Urías laced a two-run double and James McCann added an RBI single. And it left Buehler on the verge of going off the rails, like he has all too frequently this season.

This time, however, the right-hander settled down, found some rhythm and completed perhaps his best start of the season.

With better first-pitch efficiency (13 for 23 on first-pitch strikes) and two-strike execution (he gave up only one hit and one walk in such a count), Buehler surrendered only one other run in 4⅔ innings — and even that was the result of more bad luck, coming on an RBI double from O’Hearn a batter after Buehler failed to get a strike call on a full-count check swing.

“We haven’t seen that in quite some time,” Roberts said of Buehler. “For him to reset, gather himself and still throw the baseball the way he did was big for his confidence, for us, and I’m looking forward for him to build on this.”

Buehler still has an ugly 5.88 earned-run average in his first season since undergoing a second Tommy John surgery in 2022. He has managed to work past the fifth inning in only three of 11 starts, a far cry from the All-Star form he once displayed as the ace of the rotation.

But over 90 pitches Wednesday, in which he struck out four and got a season-best 12 swings and misses, he at least showed some semblance of promise, helping put the Dodgers, who also got 4⅓ scoreless inning from the bullpen, in position to capitalize on Ohtani’s big night.

“I’m as encouraged as I’ve been since 2021,” Buehler said. “I didn’t have to tell myself to do something and hope it worked out. I felt a lot more like when I picked up my leg I was able to throw the ball over the plate … When I go to sleep I’ll feel like I’m somewhat myself again, and that’s a big thing for me.”

Notes

• Tyler Glasnow will resume his throwing program Friday, after having a scheduled session of catch scratched this week. Roberts said Glasnow, who went on the injured list Aug. 16 because of elbow tendinitis, didn’t feel great after starting his throwing program last week.

The Dodgers are hoping this time goes better for the 31-year-old right-hander. Roberts acknowledged this week that any further delays in Glasnow’s recovery might hamper his ability to get fully built up in time for a potential playoff run.

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto began his minor league rehab assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, giving up one run in two innings while striking out two batters and sitting at 94 to 95 mph with his fastball.

• Jack Flaherty was feeling OK after taking a comebacker off his right wrist Tuesday. Flaherty’s next start will be Sunday or Monday — depending on whether the Dodgers decide to use a spot starter Sunday in Arizona (triple-A pitcher Justin Wrobleski could be an option).

• Outfielder Andy Pages probably will be the position player call-up when rosters expand in September, Roberts said.

• Catcher Austin Barnes (toe fracture) was expected to be activated Thursday, and reliever Brusdar Graterol (hamstring strain) will be going out on a rehab assignment soon, Roberts said.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.