– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Shohei Ohtani rejoined the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday and did so as, certainly, a happy man — and a new father. While that pregnancy went according to plan, the Dodgers saw their pitching plans on Sunday afternoon blow up in their face, yet they managed to more than persevere in taking the series in the Lone Star State.
Ohtani did not get a hit on his return to the Dodgers on Sunday, but his walk played a role in the run the Dodgers scored in the eighth that turned out to be the only score in Los Angeles’ 1-0 victory over the Texas Rangers inside Globe Life Field on Sunday afternoon. Five relievers combined with Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow in shutting out the Rangers as the latter had to leave the fifth inning due to lower leg cramps.
Ohtani returned to the Dodgers’ lineup after missing the series’ previous two games after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child in Southern California. Though he went 0-for-3, Ohtani drew a walk in the eighth inning, one batter after pinch-hitter Will Smith started the inning with a single. Smith advanced to second on Ohtani’s walk, moved to third on a deep fly out to right field, and scored on Freddie Freeman’s sacrifice fly to left field.
Tanner Scott was the last of the relievers to come in for the Dodgers to preserve the shutout and record his eighth save, which officially came when Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford was thrown out trying to steal second base to end the game. Langford appeared to make it safely, but his feet-first slide forced him off the bag for a instant as second baseman Miguel Rojas maintained his tag on Langford throughout the slide. The Rangers challenged the play but the original call was upheld.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor Ross James. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 26 pictures in total.
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