Come on, you knew it was going to happen. If you didn’t, you were one of very few. And even though it wasn’t one of those ridiculous monster shots he’s been hitting during batting practice this past week, it was Shohei Ohtani‘s first home run in a Dodgers uniform in an actual game, albeit a Spring Training game, and it sent the (very) large Camelback Ranch crowd into an absolute frenzy.

“I thought I hit it a little too high, actually. Maybe the Arizona factor factored into it a little bit,” Ohtani kidded with reporters (through interpreter Ippei Mizuharaan) following his five-inning Spring Training debut as the Dodgers designated hitter on Tuesday afternoon.

“Really impressive, squared two balls up and, you know, obviously he lived up to the hype,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson postgame. “And everyone was excited about his debut and hits a homer backside. He didn’t even get it really well, but it was good that he gave the people what they wanted.”

Exactly what they wanted.

As for that “squared two balls up” thing, after striking out looking in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, the 29-year-old Oshu, Japan native and future first-ballot Hall of Famer smoked a hard ground ball to second base in the bottom of the third inning. And even though it resulted in a 4-6-3 double play, it allowed Dodgers center fielder Jose Ramos to score from third base to tie the game at 1-1.

That second “squared” ball was, of course, his fifth-inning two-run oppo blast to left to pull his team to within one of the White Sox at 4-3 in the Dodgers eventual 9-6 win over their Camelback Ranch roommates.

Exactly what they wanted.

Play Ball!

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