Ohtani & Tatis Hit By Pitch As Dodgers-Padres Feud Gains Heat With Benches Clearing

Shohei Ohtani took a 100-mph fastball to his right shoulder blade in the bottom half of Thursday night’s ninth inning, marking the eighth time a batter had been hit in another tension-filled series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

Anger filled Dodger Stadium, by which point a sold-out crowd had mostly filed out. Players were ready to spill out of the dugout once more. But Ohtani raised his left hand and vigorously waved off teammates as he made his walk toward first base, clamoring for peace.

A half-inning earlier is where the fireworks really took place.

Fernando Tatis Jr. took a 93-mph fastball to the right hand from Dodgers rookie right-hander Jack Little. It marked the second time in a span of three days that Tatis and Ohtani had been hit by pitches almost immediately after each other. More notably for the Padres, it marked the fifth time the Dodgers had hit Tatis since the start of the 2024 season, including three times over the past nine days.

Padres’ manager Mike Shildt walked toward Tatis and yelled in the direction of the opposing dugout. Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts ran onto the field and shoved Shildt before being separated. Both bullpens and dugouts emptied, though order was restored before punches were thrown.

By the end of the night, both managers, one bench coach (Brian Esposito) and one pitcher (Robert Suarez, whose pitch hit Ohtani) had been ejected. The Padres held on for a 5-3 victory, and afterward, Padres star third baseman Manny Machado said the Dodgers had better “pray” Tatis is not seriously injured.

“They need to set a little candle up for Tatis tomorrow,” Machado said. “Hopefully [the scans] come back negative. That’s not a good spot to get hit. I don’t care who it is. I don’t care who’s on the mound.”

Tatis wore a bandage on his right hand after the game and sounded dejected when he told reporters how he was feeling.

“Not good,” Tatis said. “Initial X-rays were inconclusive.” A CT scan will determine the extent of his injury on Friday.

The Dodgers have hit Tatis six times in his career. None of the 28 other teams have hit him more than four times, according to ESPN Research.

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Article by James Van Wickler