Fans weren’t the only ones dozing off during the Dodgers’ demolition of the Yankees on Saturday. So was Shohei Ohtani.
Cameras caught the Dodgers’ megastar with his head on the dugout railing and appearing to get some shuteye during the 18-2 victory over the Yankees. Ohtani quickly woke up and appeared to realize what was happening, but we can unofficially call it the first time a superstar has ever reached stage 1 sleep inside of the dugout.
It’s hard to blame Ohtani for giving himself a rest. In addition to being a new father — he and his wife, Mamiko, had a baby girl in April — there wasn’t much going on Saturday to keep anybody engaged.
The Dodgers put up four runs in the first inning and six more in the second, knocking Will Warren out of the game and rendering the last seven innings a slow procession to 27 outs.
Ohtani, who was 2-for-4, was lifted in the sixth for a pinch-hitter, as there was just no need for him to stay in the game.
While the Dodgers are tied with the Yankees in the loss column, the gap between the two teams looks like it’s grown into a gulf since the World Series, when the Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games.
The Dodgers have dominated the Yankees in the first two games of the World Series rematch, beating them 8-5 on Friday — with Ohtani homering twice and the Bombers blowing a lead in the sixth — before embarrassing them on Saturday.
The series finale is Sunday night, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for L.A. and Ryan Yarbrough for the Yankees.
Hopefully the Yankees can do enough for everyone to stay awake, with the game getting ESPN’s primetime treatment.
