Shohei Ohtani sniffled. He coughed into his shoulder.
“These last few days,” he said in Japanese, “it was pretty …”
He stopped himself.
“It’s gotten better,” he said.
Even though Ohtani hadn’t completely recovered from the cold that made the rounds in the clubhouse in recent days, he managed to crack a smile after a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Nine games into his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani finally homered.
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April 3, 2024
He was more relieved than he was overjoyed, which was evident by how he looked as he rounded the bases after launching a seventh-inning fastball by Taylor Rodgers halfway up the right-field pavilion.