ANAHEIM — Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound at Angel Stadium wasn’t just another start on the calendar — it was a collision of past and present, played out under the familiar orange glow of a Southern California summer night.

For the first time since leaving the Angels in December 2023 to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani stood on the same dirt where he became an international icon. The ovation from the crowd was equal parts admiration, disappointment (in his decision to leave the team), and nostalgia — cheers that carried memories of towering home runs, blistering fastballs, and MVP seasons. But this time, Ohtani wore Dodger blue, and he was here to face his former team, not carry it.

Before he even touched the mound, Ohtani made noise at the plate. Leading off the game, he laced a triple down the right field line, before trotting home moments later to score his MLB-leading 114th run of the season. It was a symbolic opening act, reminding fans that his bat remains one of baseball’s most dangerous weapons.

On the mound, however, the night was more complicated. Facing old friends and familiar foes, Ohtani allowed a season-high four earned runs over 4.1 innings. His fastball topped out at a whopping 101 MPH, but the Angels didn’t flinch. Taylor Ward took him deep in the second inning, a solo shot that stirred the home crowd.

By the fifth, Ohtani had settled into a rhythm — striking out Luis Rengifo for the first out — but the inning unraveled quickly. Back-to-back singles set the stage for Zach Neto, who ripped a two-run double down the line to slice the Dodgers’ lead to 5-4. It was the kind of gut-punch inning Ohtani has been working to avoid since his return to pitching.

“I just couldn’t finish off hitters that inning,” Ohtani said through a translator about that difficult fifth inning. “I felt pretty good facing the first hitter [Rengifo], but I just couldn’t finish off the other hitters.”

His final line: 4.1 innings pitched, five hits, no walks, seven strikeouts, and four earned runs. Not a disaster, but not the dominance he demands from himself.

Afterward, Ohtani admitted the night was tinged with emotion.

“I had a lot of good memories in this stadium,” said Ohtani. “It’s one of my favorite stadiums to play in, and so it was really important to me to be able to pitch here again.”

He struck out Mike Trout twice, a reminder of their epic duel at the World Baseball Classic in March of 2023. Still, Ohtani didn’t sugarcoat his own performance.

“Next time I have to do a better job.”

And his team needed it. The Dodgers, who have been staggering through August, once again found a way to let a win slip through their fingers. Leading 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, reliever Edgardo Henriquez gave up a two-run single to Logan O’Hoppe that flipped the score. The Angels closed it out for a 6-5 win — their sixth straight over the Dodgers this season and seventh dating back to last year.

“We have to turn the page and get ready for San Diego,” said Mookie Betts of the loss and the Padres now leapfrogging them for first place in the N.L. West. “We would love to win all these games, but it just wasn’t in the cards.”

For Ohtani, the night was a bridge between what was and what is. He left behind a franchise and fan base that adored him, chasing championships in Los Angeles. Yet, under the lights in Anaheim, his past felt close enough to touch — even as the scoreboard reminded him that baseball’s present can be ruthless.

“This was a tough loss obviously because of the result, but I liked the way we played,” said Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts pointing out some of the unlucky breaks his team suffered from in the loss. “That’s baseball. That’s the way things are going right now.”

In a season defined by comebacks — both personal and team-wide — Wednesday’s loss was another reminder that the Dodgers’ title defense will be more difficult than anyone ever thought before the season began. It will also require everyone on the roster, not just Ohtani and his star power.

If the Dodgers want to climb back to the top of the mountain and become the first team to win back-to-back World Series titles since the New York Yankees in the late 90s, then they will need timely hitting, strong starting pitching, and a bullpen that can put up clean innings of relief.

“I never expected we would be in this spot,” said Roberts about his team falling back into second place. “We’re not really accustomed to this. We’re in a funk. At the end of the day, we’re just not finishing games when we have the opportunity, or on the offensive side being able to tack on runs when we’re given opportunities.”

Key stat
Ohtani has 15 strikeouts over his last 8 1/3 innings.

Up next
Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 3.14 ERA) seems likely to take the mound Friday against San Diego.