The Big Sho: Ohtani hits the same 3-run home run in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ playoff debut in the NLDS win

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Shohei Ohtani rewrote the record book during his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now he gets a chance to make even more history in his highly anticipated playoff debut.

Ohtani hit a tie-breaking three-run home run with two outs in the second inning to help Los Angeles win its Division Series opener on Saturday night. The Dodgers earned a 7-5 victory over the San Diego Padres. A team that fought until the end before winning its 11th NL West title in 12 years.

“It was crazy how good he was with runners in scoring position,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he gets those opportunities, you feel like he’s going to take advantage of them.”

The Japanese Superstar sent a 2-1 pitch from Dylan Cease to right field for a 372-foot shot that kept the sellout crowd of 53,028 — including actors Brad Pitt and Rob Lowe — on their feet.

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

He finished the game 2 for 5 with three RBIs, two runs scored and two strikeouts as 88-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax watched from behind home plate.

“It was pretty exciting,” Ohtani said.

In his first attack he flew to the left.

“The focus was really on having my swing, the quality of hitting that I’m looking for, even though I’m in an excited, high-intensity environment,” Ohtani said. “Even though I wasn’t there at bat, I felt pretty good and wanted to keep it that way with the other shots.”

The Padres took a 3-0 lead in the first game against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani’s compatriot, who is also making his postseason debut in the best-of-five National League Division Series.

Ohtani, who batted .310 in the regular season, brought in Will Smith, who walked, and Gavin Lux, who singled, to make it 3-3.

“It just gave us momentum again and gave us life,” Roberts said. “From the first pitch, the fans were just there, right in the middle of it. I just felt this energy. I think Shohei benefits from this.”

San Diego took a 5-3 lead before the Dodgers rallied with three runs in the fourth. Ohtani had a broken-bat single and later joined Mookie Betts in scoring on a single by Teoscar Hernández that gave the Dodgers their first lead, 6-5.

“It’s really difficult for a playoff team to go into the first game of the postseason and feel comfortable, especially given the long layoff, but I think everyone really did their part,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani appeared in the dugout before the game full of energy. In the batter’s box, he seemingly flipped a switch and focused fully on the task at hand.

“You can see it even in his first at-bat, just the discipline in the strike zone, getting back in the count and then flying out,” Roberts said. “I have truly never seen a man persevere in the biggest moments as consistently as he did. I wish many other players had this ability. He’s just very unique.”

Ohtani gets his first chance on the October stage after spending the last six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record during his tenure.

In December, he signed a record, 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers as a free agent. The two-way phenom did not pitch this season while rehabbing from a second major elbow surgery. This allowed him to concentrate on his offense and became the first major league player with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season.

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