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SHOHEI OHTANI HOMERS AT THE TOKYO DOME! #TOKYOSERIES pic.twitter.com/04dK1gKnt5
TOKYO – Shohei Ohtani met the moment in his return to the Tokyo Dome, because of course he did. In Saturday’s exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants, Ohtani – ever the showman – was quick to slug a home run while wearing a major league uniform in his home country for the first time for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not that it should come to anyone’s surprise.
“I’m surprised it took two at-bats, honestly,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said of Ohtani’s solo blast off his former World Baseball Classic teammate, Shosei Togo, in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win.
“In big moments he seems to just do what the fans want him to do,” Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto.
Ohtani’s fellow countrymen, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, stood up next to each other in the dugout and watched in awe as the home run went halfway up the bleachers in right field. There is no bigger star in this country, or even in this sport, than Ohtani. But he seemingly never fails to deliver when all eyes are on him.
“I was expecting that he would hit a home run and he did,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “Just like I expected.”
A year removed from what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called a “debacle” of a major league debut last season in Seoul, South Korea, the Dodgers have done nothing but rave about Yamamoto this spring. Much of the organization’s decision to start Yamamoto on Opening Day was set in stone before anyone even reported to camp – after all, the Tokyo Series presented an opportunity for Yamamoto to square off against the Chicago Cubs’ Shota Imanaga in the first-ever Opening Day matchup of Japanese-born pitchers.
But Yamamoto has impressed nonetheless as he enters the second year of the richest contract ever handed out to a pitcher, a 12-year, $325 million deal to woo the three-time Sawamura award winner with the Orix Buffaloes.
Mookie Betts did not participate in either of the Dodgers’ exhibition contests at the Tokyo Dome and remains questionable to appear in the club’s opener due to an illness he sustained before the team boarded its flight to Japan, Roberts said.
All the while, he found ways to be effective. Yamamoto learned to lean on his slider when his back was against the wall. He implemented a cutter and a sinker midseason. This spring, Roberts said, he’s learned to trust his fastball in the zone, jumping ahead and establishing count leverage rather than constantly try to live on the edges of the strike zone.
Mookie Betts is expected to take part in the Dodgers’ optional workout at the Tokyo Dome on Monday morning. Roberts, however, seemed to caution against optimism that Betts will be ready for Opening Day against the Cubs on Tuesday.
The Tigers’ stars on Sunday, in particular, figure to be targets for big league clubs to bring over to the United States in the coming years.
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