Watch: Dodgers teammates trick Shohei Ohtani into thinking they were pinch-hitting for him
There was some fun going on in the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout, with Shohei Ohtani at the center of it. During Wednesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the Dodgers were facing a potential blowout loss, the players engaged in some banter by pranking Ohtani, who seemed to take it well.
A video was released from MLB's social media account on X/Twitter, which revealed the happenings within the Dodgers dugout. Ohtani, who was ready to walk the stairs for his next at-bat, was interrupted by the Dodgers coach as if to say, "Wait up".
It was followed by Miguel Rojas walking up the stairs with a straight face, which led Ohtani to look stunned and confused, believing that he had been replaced in the game and that Rojas would pinch-hit for him. The situation was perfectly set up, given a pitching change that took place in the preceding inning.
Teoscar Hernandez, who was seeing it all unfold, finally burst the bubble, telling Ohtani it was all just a prank.
Check out the video below:
Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers lose series against D-backs
Well, it may have been all fun in the Dodgers dugout, but it wasn't on the diamond, as the D-backs won the game 6-0 on Wednesday. This was Arizona's second straight win over the NL West leaders, winning back-to-back games after losing the first game of the three-game series.
Simply put, it was a blowout loss for the Dodgers, who couldn't muster a single run on the night. Ryne Nelson, who was Arizona's primary pitcher on the night, threw five scoreless innings. Moreover, the other pitchers who also participated in the shutout included Brandon Hughes, Justin Martinez, Joe Mantiply, Kevin Ginkel and Bryce Jarvis.
For the Dodgers, Tyler Glasnow was looking good until the fifth inning bug hit him as he allowed three runs to score. The Dodgers also gave up one run in the sixth and two runs in the eighth. On the offense, the trio of Mookie Betts (1-for-3, one BB), Shohei Ohtani (1-for-4) and Freddie Freeman (0-for-4) were kept silent.
With the loss, the Dodgers slid to 33-19 and will now head on the road to face the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark for a three-game series.