LOS ANGELES — Sporting his own Dodgers jersey, Decoy sat dutifully on the mound as commanded by his dog-father then, on cue, carried the ceremonial “first pitch” to Shohei Ohtani behind home plate, delivering a high five as well as the ball to the delight of a sellout crowd on hand for their shared bobblehead night.
It was an adorable, viral moment that made Decoy the star of the Ohtani family for all of 15 minutes.
“I think I was more nervous for the ceremonial pitch than Decoy,” Ohtani said after the game through his interpreter, saying Decoy had practiced for three weeks for his big moment, even doing a dry run at the stadium.
“I’m glad that everything went well.”
Shohei Ohtani reclaimed his top dog status with a home run leading off the bottom of the first inning. He added two stolen bases and scored three runs as the Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4, on Wednesday night.
The home run was the 42nd of the season for Ohtani and the steals gave him a matching season total in that category.
It was the 10th time this season Ohtani has had a home run and a stolen base in the same game. The record is 13 by Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson in 1986. Ohtani has three games this season with a home run and multiple stolen bases. According to statistician Sarah Langs, only two players have done that more often during a season since 1900 – Henderson in 1986 (five games) and Eric Davis in 1987 (four).
“I heard that Decoy was going to throw the first pitch and I’m impressed that the dog was already that trained. I guess if it’s Shohei’s dog, nothing should be that surprising,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That was pretty impressive. But Shohei, his bobblehead night and to hit a homer and steal a couple bases. I’m telling you, any big moment he seems to rise up to the occasion.”
The fans certainly did, lining the streets outside the entrances to the parking lots long before they opened to make sure they got one of the bobbleheads.
“I was surprised as well when I came to the park with my family,” Ohtani said of the crowds. “I wasn’t really aware of the situation. I thought it was some other special event going on.”
The win was special enough, the 13th in the past 18 games for the Dodgers. The Arizona Diamondbacks kept pace with a comeback victory over the New York Mets and stayed three games back in the National League West. The San Diego Padres, meanwhile, lost in St. Louis and fell four games behind the Dodgers.
The pre-game feel-good moment featuring Ohtani and his four-legged friend was in danger of being swamped by the bad karma that seems to be trailing Walker Buehler too often in his comeback season.
Buehler retired the first four batters he faced before his defense pulled the rug out from under him. A throwing error by third baseman Max Muncy started it then Buehler got Cedric Mullins to swing and miss a breaking ball that bounced in the dirt.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith fielded the ball but stood there and held it as Mullins trotted to first base, perhaps thinking the ball had been tipped. By the time Smith threw to first base, Mullins had reached safely.
“I don’t know what team was playing defense that second inning and it certainly didn’t help Walker out,” Roberts said with obvious dissatisfaction.
Ramon Urias followed with a two-run double. After a fly out, James McCann dumped a soft single into right field for a third run.
The sloppy inning inflated Buehler’s pitch count. He walked Anthony Santander with two outs in the fifth – with the help of a two-strike checked-swing call that went against him – and gave up an RBI double to Ryan O’Hearn, ending his night.
It wasn’t the clear step forward the Dodgers have been hoping to see from Buehler. But Buehler said he was “as encouraged as I’ve been since 2021” before the elbow injury that led to a second reconstructive surgery in 2022.
Half the runs were unearned and Buehler showed better command at times (particularly of his secondary pitches), relying heavily on his curveball and cutter.
“I mean, ’22 I had one good game that I remember,” Buehler said. “Other than that – I think I had one good game against Cincy (this year). But I thought I threw the ball better tonight. It just kind of worked out a little differently than I would have wanted. But in terms of the ball doing what I wanted and being where I wanted and velocity and shapes and all the other (stuff) we talk about, I think tonight was probably the best I’ve thrown the ball.”
The Orioles had their own troubles, committing three errors that led to five unearned runs behind starter Corbin Burnes.
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Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias let Kiké Hernandez’s ground ball go through him into right field to start a four-run second inning for the Dodgers. Ohtani followed with a single and Mookie Betts cashed in the error with an RBI single. Two batters later – and after a double-steal with Ohtani and Betts – Teoscar Hernandez crushed a hanging curveball from Burnes, sending it 431 feet into the pavilion in left-center.
The three-run home run put the Dodgers ahead to stay.
Ohtani stole another unearned run for the Dodgers in the fifth inning. He reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second base, scampered to third when Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman fumbled the ball for an error then scored on an error by shortstop Gunnar Henderson.
That gave the Dodgers a two-run lead. A night after the Orioles’ bullpen held the Dodgers scoreless for 4⅔ to protect a one-run lead, the Dodgers’ bullpen stepped up with 4⅓ scoreless innings from Anthony Banda, Ryan Brasier, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech to protect the two-run advantage.
“It’s a really special night,” Ohtani said of winning after Decoy set the tone. “I hope to buy some special snack for him.”
Decoy and Shohei with the cutest first pitch you’ve ever seen. pic.twitter.com/fEoFRxMOH4
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 29, 2024
Shohei leaves the yard for home run No. 42 pic.twitter.com/nxbqvX70Zg
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 29, 2024
Another stolen base for Shohei Ohtani pic.twitter.com/4Aoc4AmrHT
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 29, 2024
