Dodgers History: That Wonderful, Horrible Night at Dodger Stadium. And what it means for Saturday

LOS ANGELES — Three weeks have passed since Shohei Ohtani turned Dodger Stadium into a science project. Five no-hit innings. Ninety-nine on cruise, 101.7 at the top of the dial. A late thunderbolt to right that became home run number 50. That night ended with a bullpen gut-punch, but the part that matters today is what Ohtani showed while he had the ball and the bat. He looked like a finished product again. He looked ready for October.

Now the calendar has flipped to the National League Division Series. Game 1 is Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, and the opponent is the same club he blanked through five on September 16. That history is fresh for both dugouts. It also comes with useful context about how the Dodgers have managed him, what the Phillies saw, and how Ohtani says he plans to handle the noise in Philadelphia.

Start with the September blueprint. Ohtani and the Dodgers spent the summer moving off a strict progression after elbow surgery: one inning, then two, then three, then four, then five. Against the Phillies he hit the five-inning milepost and stopped at 68 pitches, by design. Dave Roberts put it plainly that night. “We’ve been very steadfast in every situation as far as innings for his usage, from one inning to two to three to four to five. We haven’t deviated from that.” He never considered sending Ohtani back out for the sixth. The plan was set before the anthem.

Within those five innings, the data and the eyeballs agreed. The fastball averaged north of 99 and reached 101.7. The slider tightened to the high 80s. Ben Rortvedt set a simple menu and Ohtani hit the spots. “I felt like everything went according to the plan this outing,” Ohtani said through Will Ireton. “Working with Ben today, we were on the same page throughout.” He allowed only one baserunner, a first-inning walk, then retired 13 in a row. He froze Kyle Schwarber with a slider at the letters. He pulled Bryce Harper into a three-pitch trap, finishing with a curve that disappeared.

Phillies hitters felt the difference the moment he left. Brandon Marsh admitted “a little sigh of relief he got pulled out.” Rafael Marchán, who later won that game with a ninth-inning homer, summed it up as well as anyone. “Being able to throw the way he throws and also hit the way he hits, it is really special,” he said. “But they took him out, and we had a chance, and we won the game.”

Perhaps the less we say about that game after Ohtani came out, the better. It was an absolute nightmare. And so fast on the heels of the bullpen meltdowns in Baltimore made it particularly painful. Within the space of a few hitters, the Dodgers’ 4-0 lead evaporated and they were in a dogfight to the finish. The final blow came in the ninth on Marchán’s blast off Blake Treinen. Yuck. That whole night was a study in exhileration followed quickly by despair, two feelings that Dodgers fans have become all too familiar with lately.

That brings us to today. The September cap was a regular-season measure. Game 1 is a different conversation, and Ohtani’s own words this week in Philadelphia suggest a clear approach more than any hard number. “My intention as a starter is to go five or six innings,” he said. “If they want me to keep going, I will be ready for that.” He has also been honest about the atmosphere and how it can move the needle on his stuff. “Some pitchers get excited and their velocity goes up, and some stay the same,” he said. “If I had to choose, I am probably the type whose velocity goes up in games like this. But being poised and balanced is important, so it depends on how well I compose myself out there.”

This is not empty talk. He already tested his stuff against the powerful Phillies lineup and called that outing an important checkpoint. “I was glad I could finish the rehab progression by that point,” he said on Friday. “Ending the season healthy and completing that work was great on its own, and doing it against a great team helped.” He understands the matchup and the quick turnaround. “There are pros and cons for both sides when you face each other again,” he said. “We learn things each time. From the last game, both they and I studied how to attack. We take that into tomorrow.”

There is also the part he keeps coming back to: gratitude for the chance to pitch, not just hit, on this stage. “I’m really excited,” he said of starting the postseason on the mound. “Of course there are moments you feel nervous, but I am just happy we kept winning through the season and that I get to play again tomorrow. Being healthy at this time of year matters to me, and I am grateful for that.” He even made time to tip a cap to the city he is about to face. “The Philadelphia fan base brings a lot of energy for baseball,” he said with a grin. “And I always think the cheesesteak in the clubhouse is really good.”

What about specific hitters, like Schwarber, who looms in every Phillies lineup card? Ohtani’s answer had the tone of a veteran. “He is a great hitter,” he said. “If I execute to my points, it should be fine. Their lineup will probably look different than last time, so I want to be careful with that and think about how to get the whole lineup out.” That “whole lineup” focus feels central. The September game featured glove-side heaters and early count sweepers to keep Philadelphia off one speed. Saturday will likely ask for the same trust in his plan, with tweaks learned from that meeting.

All of this still runs through the staff. In September he deferred on decisions about when to come out with a simple line: “The decision of whether to take me out is something I leave completely to the manager.” In Philadelphia on Friday he stayed in that pocket. He will prepare. He will be ready to go as long as they ask. The Dodgers, for their part, have signaled that his usage can expand if the outing warrants it, and that they will read the game before they read the script.

There is one more thread to pull forward from September 16. Ohtani changing a game with the bat even after his night on the mound is done. His 430-foot laser in the eighth inning that night was his 50th of the season and came off the bat at 113.4 mph. He put it in team terms, not personal history. “Of course, reaching that point means the team is more likely to win,” he told Japanese reporters. The NLDS often turns on an extra base here or a stolen strike there. Game 1 gives the Dodgers both sides of Shohei’s value from the first pitch, and still keeps his bat in the center of everything once the bullpen takes over.

So what does the September start tell us about Saturday? The fastball can carry through the top of the zone at elite velocity. The slider plays at two heights and two speeds. The curve is a surprise he trusts when he needs a chase, and the tempo stays steady when the crowd rises. He has already processed this opponent and this ballpark. He says he is excited and grateful, which in his case usually means focused.

First pitch is set for Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. If all goes well, the bullpen door will stay closed late into the ballgame. If his September preview was any indication, Ohtani arrives at Game 1 with his plan intact and his body ready. That is exactly what Los Angeles needed these three weeks later.

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