WATCH: Shohei Ohtani shows his "strongest reaction" as umpire rings him up with a questionable strike call
Shohei Ohtani rarely shows any emotion on the field, especially when he is standing inside the batter's box. The Japanese superstar hardly shows displeasure, even when the umpire makes a questionable call against him.
That is why it was a surprise to see him react strongly to a questionable third-strike call from the home plate umpire on Tuesday night against the Padres. A clip of the incident was posted by Dodgers Nation host Doug McKain on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were up against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Tuesday evening for the first clash of a two-game series between the two National League West rivals. Ohtani stepped up to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with one out while the Dodgers were leading the game 5-3.
On a 3-2 count, the Padres reliever, Jeremiah Estrada, threw a splitter down the middle of the plate, which Ohtani did not swing at, believing it to be below the strike zone. The Dodgers superstar skipped out of the batter's box thinking he earned a walk on a full count. But the home plate umpire, Dan Iassogna, felt the pitch had caught enough of the zone to be a strike and called the batter out.
In a rare act of dissent, Shohei Ohtani immediately raised the right hand and shook his head to the umpire while he kept repeating the word "no" to him, making it clear that he disagreed with the judgment. Yet he did not get into any heated exchange with Issagona, as he quickly turned around and started walking towards the dugout while muttering to himself.
During the live telecast, it looked like a bad call from Iassogna because it seemed the ball had barely kissed the bottom edge of the strike zone on the television graphic. However, the 3D replay of the pitch showed the umpire was well within his rights to judge it as a strike and call Ohtani out.
Shohei Ohtani's reaction a reflection of Padres' pressure
Despite his fairly civil reaction, Shohei Ohtani was visibly upset with the decision, and he let out an expletive in English on his way to the bench. This offers a glimpse into the pressure that the Dodgers are currently facing from the surging Padres for the NL West title.
The Dodgers carried a five-run lead after the first inning, but the Padres were able to tie the game before the end courtesy of home runs from Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill in the bottom of the ninth. Playing in front of a record turnout of 47,559 at Petco Park, the Padres eventually closed out the game 6-5 in their favor with a walk-off single from backup infielder Donavon Solano in the 10th inning.
As a result, the Padres have narrowed their deficit to the Dodgers to just five and a half games. The two teams will face each other again on Wednesday evening.