The Blue Jays needed reinforcements as their catcher, Alejandro Kirk, got injured. They called up a 25-year-old rookie from the Triple-A Buffalo to stand behind the home plate. However, no one would have thought that would cause an injury scare to none other than Shohei Ohtani!
The second game between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays saw emerging star Brandon Valenzuela taking up the catcher role for the Jays. It was his third game in MLB, and he was still taking time to get adjusted to the packed ballparks. The last thing he needed was another reason to be nervous, and that’s exactly what happened when he unintentionally hit Ohtani. He, however, was quick to apologize after the game.
“I said sorry to him,” Valenzuela revealed after a 4-1 loss to the Dodgers, per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. “I don’t know if he took it, but I said sorry.”
The story happened in the 5th inning when Valenzuela was trying to pick off a runner at first base. Gausman’s pitch was a clean strike, and Valenzuela was active enough to attempt a pickoff. It was a welcoming move from the Jays catcher as the Dodgers were leading 3-0 at the moment.
Valenzuela said he apologized to Ohtani.
“I said sorry to him. I don’t know if he took it, but I said sorry.”
Valenzuela hit Ohtani with his thumb & wrist on an attempted pickoff at first. https://t.co/BsNIE7PSMO
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) April 8, 2026
The first runner was safe, but Ohtani at home plate was not. As Valenzuela threw, his hand made hard contact with Ohtani’s funny bone.
Ohtani was visibly in pain, and Valenzuela’s thumb took the hit. Ohtani appeared to express frustration with the whole situation. Further, the Dodgers trainer rushed into action, as fans held their breath. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t serious, and the situation didn’t escalate any further. Both the slugger and catcher finished the at-bat and remained in the game.
Surely, it was a nerve-wracking moment for a 3-game-old rookie, and that was visible when he apologized publicly after the game.
The Dodgers eventually had a sigh of relief as Ohtani continued his at-bats. After recording a .167 average through his first six games of the season, Shohei Ohtani seems to be coming out of the rust. He recorded three homers in the last five games and is currently on a five-game hitting streak. So, just as Ohtani started to fire up, an injury from a bizarre incident could have done more harm than imagined.
The Dodgers are doing everything that they can do for Ohtani, and the Japanese phenom is doing what he does best.
The Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani are both creating milestones
While it’s now normal to see Ohtani creating new milestones, the Dodgers are not far behind in making things possible.
Well, MLB teams go to any extent to protect their cornerstones, but when it comes to the Dodgers, they go beyond any extent. And it’s confirmed by none other than the Red Sox legend David Ortiz.
Ortiz recently revealed that on his visit to Dodger Stadium, he found that the team is building a dedicated batting cage for Ohtani. Why? Ohtani promised the team that a dedicated batting cage could make him a better hitter. The Dodgers went ahead and invested as per Ohtani’s expectations. According to Ortiz, the Dodgers have invested more than $100 million in the clubhouse!
Ohtani has hit 54 and 55 home runs in his last two seasons. And the other 29 teams can only imagine what could happen if he gets any better from here, and it’s happening.
Ohtani is repaying with his bat to the team. He is about to tie Ichiro Suzuki’s unique record by the next game. With a base hit and a walk in the second game against the Jays, Ohtani is now on a 42-game on-base streak.
Just one hit in the next game, and Ohtani would equal Suzuki’s record for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player in league history at 43 games. So, an injury could have made things worse for Ohtani, but nothing of the sort happened, and a new record is just around the corner.
