Shohei Ohtani further heightened the tension in the rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres by confronting the pitcher who hit him with a pitch.
The two-way Japanese phenomenon took advantage of the gathering of baseball players during the 2025 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Home Run Derby.
How did Shohei Ohtani face the Padres pitcher?
Shohei Ohtani grabbed his shoulder and grimaced as he approached Venezuelan Robert Suarez, who is the closer for the San Diego Padres, and said a few things to the Japanese before laughing, patting him on the back, giving him two pats and shaking hands and hugging each other.
Ohtani continued on his way around the field and turned to say other things to Robert Suarez while still clutching his shoulder and laughing, making note of the joke he had made to the pitcher who hit him with a pitch.
Robert Suarez’s pitch to Shohei Ohtani
Robert Suarez hit Shohei Ohtani with a 100 mph fastball last June in the series between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, which has since become known as the beanball series.
In the same game, in addition to Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. was also hit more than once and other players from both teams, which led to the benches being emptied and an argument between Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, and Mike Shildt, the Padres manager. In addition to the ejection and suspension of Robert Suarez and Manny Machado’s warning to the Blues.
The rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres
The rivalry between the Dodgers and the Padres has been heated since the 2019 season, when Manny Machado did not sign with Los Angeles but with San Diego after being traded to the Dodgers from the Baltimore Orioles and losing the World Series to the Boston Red Sox in five games.
There’s also the comment from Manny Machado to a Dodgers fan telling him that the Padres would win the World Series before them, which didn’t happen, and their constant playoff clashes since then.
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