In a season already full of firsts, Shohei Ohtani did it again. On Wednesday night, with the Dodgers looking to stay undefeated and 50,000 fans holding their Ohtani bobbleheads, the two-way superstar delivered yet another moment for the ages—a walk-off home run to make it 8-0 on the season for the World Series champs.
The Moment That Defined the Game
Tied 5-5 in the 9th, Ohtani stepped up against Raisel Iglesias. The tension was high, but his teammates weren’t nervous—they were convinced.
“He’s going to end this right here,” said third baseman Max Muncy. “We knew,” said starting pitcher Blake Snell. “He just does that.”
Ohtani waited for the perfect pitch. He got it—a first-pitch changeup on the outside corner—and didn’t miss. The ball went 399 feet to straightaway center and the stadium erupted and the Dodgers had come back to win against the Braves.
“I don’t think anyone didn’t think he was going to hit a walk-off home run there,” said utility man Tommy Edman. “It’s just where he’d hit it.”
A Historic Start for the Dodgers
The win put the Dodgers at 8-0, the best start by a defending champion ever, surpassing the 1933 New York Yankees (Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig). The Braves are 0-7, no team has ever come back from that to make the playoffs.
This is more than just a hot streak—it’s about being resilient. Down 5-0 early after defensive miscues, including two Muncy errors, the Dodgers came back. Key contributions came from unlikely sources, like Muncy himself, who redeemed himself with a game tying double in the 8th with his trusty bat, not the trendy “torpedo” model.
But when it was time to get it done, it was Ohtani who did.
“You just feel like he’s going to do something special,” said manager Dave Roberts. “And I just like the way he’s not pressing. He’s in the zone and when he is, there’s nobody better.”
Ohtani: A Player Like No Other
Ohtani’s heroics aren’t new—they’re woven into his very fabric. That was evident last August when he joined the 40/40 club with a walk-off grand slam that sealed the deal. His first postseason berth was clinched with a jaw-dropping 50/50 campaign that really put him on the map.
Teoscar Hernández, the outfielder, has a pretty good take on Ohtani’s abilities. “He’s pretty good, huh?” he jokes. “It’s Shohei. He’s going to do things better than that.” That’s the kind of confidence you can only have when you’ve seen someone perform at that level day in and day out.
A Team Built on Resilience
The Dodgers’ undefeated streak isn’t just about Shohei Ohtani. It’s about a team that refuses to give up. That collective mindset has been forged in the fire of injuries that have sidelined stars like Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts at various points. Comebacks and clutch performances have been the Dodgers’ lifeblood as they’ve stayed unbeaten.
Muncy captures that attitude pretty well. “This clubhouse has a little bit of that same swagger we had last year,” he says. “We never think we’re out of a game. When bad things happen—and they do happen—nobody gets down. You just hear, ‘Alright, next inning. Let’s get after it.’”
That mentality has helped the Dodgers stay ahead of the tough competition in the NL West. They’ve beaten the 7-0 Padres and the 5-1 Giants. The division as a whole is 25-7-the best start in MLB history since divisions were introduced. The Diamondbacks and Rockies are part of that.