Blake Snell sends 1-word message to Shohei Ohtani after Dodgers superstar's heroics against Braves

The Los Angeles Dodgers maintained their unbeaten start to the season thanks to Shohei Ohtani's heroics. The Japanese two-way phenom came in clutch for the NL West team's come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Heading into the series finale against the Braves with seven consecutive wins to start the season, the Dodgers trailed 5-2 after the second inning on Wednesday.

The Dodgers offense found it tough against the Braves pitching staff but the reining World Series winners tied in the game in the eighth inning thanks to Max Muncy's two-run double.

Shohei Ohtani blasted a walk-off home run in the ninth inning to seal a comeback win, making it eight wins in a row for the NL West team. Ohtani's teammate, Blake Snell, sent a one-word message for the Japanese star after his heroics.

"Hello," Snell wrote a message in his Instagram story tagging Ohtani.

Incidentally, it was the Dodgers superstar's bobblehead night on Wednesday at Blake Snell felt Shohei Ohtani was going to do something special to mark the occasion.

"When he was coming up, and it’s his bobblehead night -- everyone knew," Blake Snell said after the game. "We knew. It’s just what he does."

Shohei Ohtani credits Dodgers teammate Max Muncy for his game-tying hit

It was the second walk-off home run of Shohei Ohtani's MLB career. His previous walk-off home run was also with the Dodgers in August last year. Following the win, Ohtani credited Muncy for his game-tying double in the eighth inning.

"I think the credit really goes to Max Muncy to be able to pull through and tie the game," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "For me, coming into the inning, tied in that last at-bat, it just felt like we really had a good shot to win."

Ohtani's walk-off home run maintained the Dodgers' unbeaten start to the season. Their unbeaten start to the season also made the Dodgers the first defending World Series champion to go 8-0 to start the season.

Although the Dodgers came from behind to win the game, manager Dave Roberts was astonished by the team's dismal start to the game, trailing 5-2 after the second inning.

"I was dumbfounded with the way we were playing," Roberts said. "I didn’t recognize that club in the first couple innings."

However, Roberts was pleased with the fighting spirit, led by the reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, to sweep the Braves on Wednesday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash