Gritty Win Despite Two Ohtani Strikeouts! Muncy Bomb Seals it 2-1

Early Game

Whew, that was a nail-biter today, but we got it done — 2-1, that's Dodger baseball right there!

Key Moments

Gotta be honest, Ohtani had a rough one today. Struck out looking right off the bat in the top of the 1st, completely fooled by an 80.6 mph slider from Wieder. I was like "okay, you alright buddy?" — but come on, that's not how Ohtani's day ends. Sure enough, top of the 3rd he made the adjustment, squared up a 95 mph fastball from Wheeler and ripped a 104.7 mph bullet groundball single. That 5° launch angle, you could hear the barrel through the TV. Didn't drive in a run, but that hit had me thinking "okay, there he is, he's back."

But then he went down swinging again in the top of the 6th... last pitch was an 80.7 mph curveball, and honestly even Ohtani can't lay off that one. Let out a little sigh, but hey, everybody has those days. Top of the 8th was a flyout, but the at-bat itself was solid — laid off the curve, then drove a cutter 82.5 mph at a 31° launch angle for 312 feet, just hit it right at somebody. Frustrating to end up hitless, but he'll make up for it next game, come on Shohei!

Ken-chan's Take

As for the game flow — Boehm singled to lead off the bottom of the 1st and we're down early, and I'm thinking "ugh, not a great start." But then Muncy came through in the top of the 4th! An absolute moonshot — 102.4 mph, 28° launch angle, 421 feet — no doubt about that one, I straight up yelled. That blast flipped it to 2-1, and we held that lead the rest of the way. That's the story of the game right there.

The pitching staff gutted it out too, holding that one-run lead all the way to the finish — really glad to see that. Low-scoring, tight ballgame like this, and pulling out the win says a lot about this team's depth. Ohtani didn't get the numbers today, but the team finding a way to win anyway — that's Dodgers strength right there. Looking forward to Ohtani going deep again soon — next one, let's go!