Shohei Ohtani had a stellar showing during the Dodgers' home game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. The Japanese superstar reached base twice, drove in three runs and celebrated in front of the buoyant home crowd with some special dance moves.
The Dodgers have been particularly hot after the All-Star break. They have started the second half of the season almost perfectly with five wins on the bounce. This has propelled them to a sizeable lead at the top of the NL West. They were convincing victors against the Giants with a 5-2 scoreline.
Three runs were off the bat of Ohtani, who went 2-5 with three RBIs and three strikeouts on the night. He hit a double to right field in the fourth before hitting a single to center in the eighth to increase the advantage.
After Shohei's 2-RBI double, he reached base and did the mandatory Dodgers base dance. It involves an LA batter swirling their arms around like an inflatable tube man before transitioning into the 'fusion pose' inspired by the anime, Dragon Ball Z.
The celebration has been quite popular amongst the Dodgers all through the season after they acquired a superstar roster. The Japanese superstar was also seen practicing the dance in the dugout earlier along with strength and conditioning coach Travis Smith.
Fans were elated after watching 'The Sho's' accessorized dance moves as they reacted on Instagram.
"The fusion going to be funky now," wrote a fan.
"Those hips don't lie," chimed in another fan."
"Mans just goofing around now, too easy for him," wrote another fan.
Shohei Ohtani projected for career-high extra-base numbers
Tuesday night's double against San Francisco was Shohei Ohtani's 26th of the season. He has hit at least 26 doubles in each of the last four seasons. Barring any injury setback, the Japanese superstar is expected to reach a career-high 30 doubles in a season.
The double was also his 60th extra base hit of the season. Shohei is currently projected to end the season with 40 doubles, six triples and 48 home runs which will be a personal record for the two-way player in an already historic season.
He will be looking to continue the rich vein of form as the Dodgers take on the Giants in the remaining three games of the series.