It's been a wild few months for Shohei Ohtani.
The Japanese superstar underwent elbow surgery in September, entered free agency in November, landed a historic contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers in December, got married in February and got swept up in an illegal gambling scheme right before Opening Day in March.
Through it all, Ohtani has remained one of baseball's most dangerous hitters, and he once again showed why in a clutch moment Sunday.
The Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds were tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning. After Kiké Hernández and Mookie Betts recorded outs, Ohtani stepped up to the plate with two on and two outs.
Ohtani fouled off three pitches and found himself in a 1-2 hole before he eventually roped an inside fastball to right, scoring veteran outfielder Jason Heyward from second. Dodger Stadium went wild, and shortstop Miguel Rojas ran out onto the field to pour water all over Ohtani.
It marked Ohtani's first walk-off of his Dodgers career, as well as his first walk-off since he was still with the Los Angeles Angels back on Sept. 4, 2020. Both of his career walk-offs have been singles.
As expected, the baseball world flocked to social media to celebrate Ohtani's big moment and Los Angeles' win.
Shohei Ohtani walks it off for the first time as a Dodger! pic.twitter.com/iWhS5nV1gO
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 19, 2024
Shohei Ohtani's first walk-off hit since Sept. 4, 2020 gives the @Dodgers their 3rd straight win! pic.twitter.com/YFJ74ebdWZ
— MLB (@MLB) May 19, 2024
shohei ohtani getting soaked after his big finish pic.twitter.com/E4fIPJxfSK
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 19, 2024
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 19, 2024
Shohei Ohtani: Hollywood ending ⭐ pic.twitter.com/2542sO3LUy
— MLB (@MLB) May 19, 2024
"I just wanted to make sure I put the ball in play, and it worked out well." Kirsten Watson caught up with today's hero, Shohei Ohtani, after his walk-off in the 10th. pic.twitter.com/Tb2tXcjWAd
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) May 19, 2024
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) May 19, 2024Shohei Ohtani just thanked every fan at Dodger Stadium that stayed for extra innings with his first walk off in 4 seasons!
This man is the definition of a superstar, worth every single penny LA ever thought of paying him.
We’re going to tell our grandkids about him. pic.twitter.com/djRzGFmPo9
Your DH could never. pic.twitter.com/gTxodU8DqQ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 20, 2024
The 29-year-old designated hitter finished the day 2-for-4. He is now batting .353 with 13 home runs, 33 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 1.081 OPS on the season, making the two-time AL MVP an early favorite to take home NL MVP.
Los Angeles now owns an 8.0-game lead in the NL West standings, sitting at 32-17. The Dodgers lead all NL teams in hits, home runs, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS, thanks in large part to Ohtani's dominance thus far.
The Dodgers open up a divisional series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. First pitch for game one is slated for 10:10 p.m. ET.
