SAN FRANCISCO –– Shohei Ohtani saved his on-base streak with an infield single in the seventh inning on Tuesday night.
But in the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants, it wasn’t enough to spur a late comeback.
By the time Ohtani came up for his final at-bat in Tuesday’s series-opener at Oracle Park, it had been a long night for both himself and his team.
The Dodgers had fallen behind early with a comedy of errors in a three-run first inning. They had barely threatened offensively outside of a four-walk rally in the fourth.
Ohtani himself was hitless at that point, having struck out his first two times up before hitting a harmless flyout in the fifth inning.
But then, for a fleeting moment, he gave the club some late life.
After Alex Freeland had drawn a two-out walk in the at-bat before him, Ohtani thought he had done the same against Giants left-hander Erik Miller, taking a 3-1 pitch for what he believed was ball four.
The home plate umpire, however, called the pitch a strike. Ohtani’s ABS challenge confirmed that the ball had clipped the edge of the zone.
So, the four-time MVP dug back in, chopped a high fastball toward shortstop, then used his legs to make some club history –– beating out the throw to run his on-base streak to 53 games dating back to last year.
With that, Ohtani tied Shawn Green for the longest on-base streak in the Dodgers’ Los Angeles history (Green reached safely in 53 consecutive games during the 2000 season). He also moved five back of Duke Snider for the franchise’s all-time mark (which Snider set back in Brooklyn in 1954).
Suddenly, the Dodgers also had the tying runs on base with a chance to mount a rally.
But, in what was a recurring theme during Wednesday’s defeat, they couldn’t make it count.
Instead, Kyle Tucker struck out to extinguish that threat. The Dodgers would leave another runner stranded at second in the eighth. And overall, they finished a three-hit, seven-walk night with eight baserunners squandered and an 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Ohtani’s historic moment would have to come in defeat.
Yet again, the Dodgers didn’t have to worry about their opening at closer in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s injury.
After blowing out the Rockies in their first game without their $69 million offseason signing, Tuesday’s loss also came without a save opportunity.
Despite that, the team’s ninth-inning plans remained a topic of conversation prior to first pitch.
Manager Dave Roberts reiterated that the club will go closer-by-committee for now, with several relievers in the mix for save opportunities. But when he was pressed on who he thinks will get the most, Roberts finally relented.
“I would say probably Tanner Scott, if I had to guess,” he said.
That might send a shiver down some Dodger fans’ spines, after Scott converted only 23 of 33 save opportunities as the club’s primary closer last year.