Shohei Ohtani missed exactly one game after his second child was born. That’s it. One day off. Then he was back in the Dodgers lineup on Saturday, facing the Baltimore Orioles like he’d never left.
Manager Dave Roberts kept the reunion low-key. He found Ohtani before the game, offered congratulations on the new baby, and that was about it.
“I talked to him briefly and congratulated him and Mamiko,” Roberts said after the game. “He says his body feels great, so the day off was good for him. But I didn’t talk much about anything else.”
No deep conversations about mechanics or game plans. Just a quick check-in and back to business.
Ohtani nearly made the return dramatic. He crushed a solo home run in the ninth inning to pull the Dodgers within one run, but they ended up losing 3-2. Still, the swing was a reminder of what he brings to the lineup. Through 69 games this season, he’s hitting .295 with 16 home runs, 43 RBIs and six stolen bases.
But it’s the pitching that’s really turned heads in 2026. Over his first 12 starts, Ohtani has a 1.47 ERA with 78 strikeouts against 22 walks. That’s not just good. That’s best-in-baseball territory, and the Dodgers are counting on him to keep it going as they push toward October.
Los Angeles entered Sunday with a 49-28 record and a nine-game lead in the NL West. That cushion gives the team some breathing room, but nobody in that clubhouse is coasting. With Ohtani back full-time, both at the plate and on the mound, the Dodgers have their best weapon firing on all cylinders.
And now he’s got a new reason to stay locked in. A second kid changes the motivation math. Maybe that matters. Maybe it doesn’t. But the timing lines up for a team chasing a three-peat.
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