Ohtani Makes Powerful Playoff Debut

Shohei Ohtani spent the first six years of his major league career with the Los Angeles Angels, who would fall out of playoff contention before long—finishing below .500 in each of those seasons. Now a member of the Dodgers, the superstar made his first postseason appearance on Saturday night, against the Padres. Baseball had been looking forward to this moment, the Washington Post reports. Ohtani quickly began making up for lost time, tying the game in the second inning with a three-run homer. He had been looking forward to it, too. "I could really feel the intensity of the stadium before the game began," Ohtani said through an interpreter, per ESPN, "and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

It was clear he enjoyed his home run, violently flipping—not tossing—his bat aside, watching the ball leave Dodger Stadium at 118mph and hollering "Let's go" as he started to circle the bases. The consensus best player in baseball, who couldn't pitch this season because of injury, became the game's first with more than 50 stolen bases and 50 home runs this season. In moments like Saturday night's, Chelsea Janes writes in the Post, "it feels like maybe baseball science to this point cannot explain Ohtani." Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen has given up, per ESPN. "I don't even try to explain him anymore. Just watch and enjoy," he said. The Dodgers beat San Diego 7-5 in Game 1 of their National League Division Series; the teams play again at 8pm ET Sunday. MLB posted video of the homer and the aftermath here. (More Shohei Ohtani stories.)