Shohei Ohtani shines in his playoff debut; Dodgers win Game 1

LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani let loose a powerful swing and hurled his racket just as violently. He even strolled for a brief moment before making his way to the first base line to commemorate his game-winning three-run home run with two outs in the second inning on Saturday.

“I could really feel the intensity of the stadium before the game started,” Ohtani said through an interpreter, “and I really enjoyed it.”

In one fell swoop, Ohtani somehow managed to live up to the massive hype he generated in his postseason debut. And in nine innings, the hype surrounding the National League Division Series showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres actually lived up to it. It ended with the Dodgers winning 7-5 in Game 1 in front of a sellout crowd. Before that, there were lead changes and early runs, defensive brilliance and critical mistakes, as well as tense deadlocks and constant tension.

Ohtani provided the first jolt.

“I don’t even try to explain him anymore,” Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen said. “Just watch and enjoy.”

Ohtani's home run – a 118 mph line drive to right field on an elevated fastball from Padres right-hander Dylan Cease – came an inning after Manny Machado's two-run shot gave San Diego an early three-run lead.

After Xander Bogaerts gave the Padres the lead again with a two-run double in the third inning, the Dodgers came back again in the bottom of the fourth inning – loading the bases with one out and then jumping with a wild pitch and a two-run. Run leading single by Teoscar Hernandez.

A Dodgers bullpen that will be relied upon heavily given the team's starting pitching woes has made a breakthrough. Ryan Brasier, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Treinen came in to replace a shaky Yoshinobu Yamamoto and combined for six scoreless innings, walking four batters but scattering just two hits.

The Padres made things interesting in the ninth inning against Treinen, putting runners on first and second with two outs to lead off Machado, whose throwing error paved the way for a sure run in the fifth inning. With the score at 1-2, Treinen unleashed a devastating sweeper that sailed well over Machado's bat for a game-winning strikeout.

“I've been talking about this for a couple of weeks: We've got to fight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And that’s what we did tonight.”

The Dodgers experienced major heartache the last two Octobers, earning first-round byes only to be eliminated in the NLDS by division rivals who had soundly outplayed them in the regular season. They entered this year's postseason looking for some edge to win against a healthier and more versatile Padres team, and the Dodgers got it from a number of players in Game 1.

It came from Treinen, who was scheduled to record five outs for the first time of the year and delivered. It came from veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas, who played through a torn adductor muscle and made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch as the Padres threatened in the eighth inning. It came from Gavin Lux, who scored the second of the ninth inning with a sweeping catch on a Luis Arraez liner. And it came from Freddie Freeman, who contributed two hits and even a stolen base despite serious doubts about his ability to play.

“I was told there was a 1 percent chance that Freddie could play,” said Max Muncy, who would have replaced Freeman at first base. “I didn’t believe that.”

Freeman sprained his right ankle on Sept. 26 and spent the next eight days fighting to play in the postseason. Speaking to the media Friday afternoon, he said the ankle was “good enough” to start Game 1. But Freeman said he “woke up in pain.” He told his eldest son, Charlie, on Saturday morning that he probably wouldn't play, then arrived early at Dodger Stadium and underwent four hours of treatment.

About three hours before game time, Freeman handled light defense and baserunning work on the field, then went in, hit one of the Dodgers' high-speed pitching machines and inserted himself into the lineup.

“I don’t think anyone expected him to play,” Rojas said. “It was a borderline miracle.”

Ohtani's performance over the past few weeks has been nothing short of miraculous. It started on September 19, when he went 6-for-6 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and two stolen bases, securing his first playoff berth and becoming the first member of the 50/50 club. Ohtani went on a 10-game run where he posted an OPS of 1.853 to close out the regular season. He struggled early with runners in scoring position, slashing .577/.633/1.308 in that situation in September, at a time when the Dodgers' lead in the division seemed in jeopardy.

For Dodgers players and coaches, it was a snapshot of how Ohtani would handle his first taste of October. He then delivered his second at-bat, becoming the third player to hit a home run in his postseason debut, joining Brooks Robinson in 1966 and Giancarlo Stanton in 2018.

“He brought an absolute thunderbolt into the stadium,” Muncy said of Ohtani. “And from then on it was like, ‘Okay, we did it. We're fine.'”