The Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 14-11 in a thrilling, back-and-forth game that featured plenty of lead changes and theatrics. The Dodgers ultimately prevailed thanks to a six-run ninth inning and some heroics from two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Facing Diamondbacks righthander Kevin Ginkel in the top of the ninth, Ohtani broke an 11-11 tie with a 426-foot, three-run home run. Then, in one of the coolest moments this season, the Dodgers slugger flipped his bat and sent his arms skyward in celebration of his clutch dinger.
Not only was Ohtani's home run and ensuing celebration yet another iconic moment for one of the game's brightest stars, but it also may have been the Dodgers star's subtle way of getting payback at the Diamondbacks.
MLB fans think Ohtani was imitating Arizona outfielder Lourdes Gurriel, who had an extravagant celebration of a game-tying grand slam earlier in the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.
First, here's Gurriel's celebration.
¡PURO PIÑA POWER! 🍍
— MLB Español (@mlbespanol) May 10, 2025
Desde el terreno el 7mo Grand Slam de Lourdes Gurriel Jr. en su carrera en MLB. pic.twitter.com/fh9tvZtqrd
Now, here's Ohtani's.
This angle of Shohei Ohtani's go-ahead homer. 😍 pic.twitter.com/h50dKnWNee
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 10, 2025
Fans were pretty convinced that Ohtani knew exactly what he was doing by celebrating in such fashion.
I'm not saying that's what it is, but probably impossible to not notice their celebrations, lol. Life comes at you fast, eh? https://t.co/c0yHI1eAbe pic.twitter.com/lcW4FxnOi8
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 10, 2025
Ohtani is so funny cause he has this super nice guy persona but he’s always gonna find little ways to mess with the opps lol pic.twitter.com/f5XgTy6BaF
— R ౨ৎ (@anakinsaber) May 10, 2025
Shohei Ohtani did it better pic.twitter.com/w1Y4BTjfSv
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) May 10, 2025
SHOHEI OHTANI MOCKED THE GURRIEL CELEBRATION DURING HIS GAME WINNING HOMER 😂
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) May 10, 2025
pic.twitter.com/5fIWxxhBxd
Ohtani, understandably, would not say whether his celebration was mimicking Gurriel's, only that Friday's game was an "emotional" affair.
"It was a really great game," Ohtani told ESPN through an interpreter. "It's not the kind of game we play a lot, but for us to score a lot, for them to come back, for us to come back again—it was very emotional."
On the heels of MLB's first 50-homer, 50-stolen base season, Ohtani is off to a fast start. He became the first player in MLB to reach 10 homers and 10 stolen bases and currently ranks third in baseball in OPS (1.063).
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fans Think Shohei Ohtani Was Mocking Diamondbacks Player With Bat Flip Celebration.
