Dodgers fans love ‘angry’ Shohei Ohtani after he gets hit by pitch and cheekily warns Carlos Santana

Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers begun their quest for the three-peat on MLB’s Opening Day.

The back-to-back World Series champions took to the newly-named Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday where they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 to kickstart the 2026 MLB campaign in enthralling fashion.

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But the victory wasn’t all smooth for the $700m Japanese superstar.

When stepping up to the plate in his at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, Ohtani got drilled up high with a 93-mph fastball thrown by Taylor Clarke.

With his right tricep baring the brunt of the contact and giving him the walk to first base, the cameras picked up the Dodgers’ designated hitter with his guard in his mouth, eyes locked in and pointing in the direction of first baseman Carlos Santana.

Although he initially looked angry, he broke out into a smile a few seconds later, which had fans flooding to social media after the clip went viral.

“Angry Ohtani is still more composed than 90% of the league on a good day,” one baseball fan joked on X (formerly Twitter).

“I wish more people threatened each other with a smile ,” a second user wrote.

“Looked like he was a little annoyed with the pitcher throwing to first base twice. But it’s tough to tell, dude is always smiling,” a third commented.

“Why is it so hard to hate him Seriously though, I’m so happy to be alive and witness this incredible player. He’s go legitimate GOAT potential if you don’t already consider him to be,” a fourth stated.

A fifth added: “Ohtani’s reaction is pure gold. Telling Carlos Santana “I’m a pitcher too” while smiling after a HBP is the ultimate flex. This is why he’s the face of baseball. Sportsmanship at its finest!”

Dodgers picked up where they left off

The Dodgers sought to pick up where they left off after that Game 7 of the 2025 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Their first starting lineup of the new campaign was slightly revamped with the addition of four-time MLB All-Star and 2022 Gold Glove Winner Kyle Tucker after he penned a four-year, $240 million in free agency.

World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto took to the mound as the starting pitcher, where he gave up only a two-run home run to Geraldo Perdomo in his six innings pitched.

Andy Pages kicked off the scoring flurry for LA when he clubbed a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth off of D-backs start Zac Gallen to give the Dodgers the go-ahead lead.

From that point forward, Los Angeles didn’t hold back, with Tucker’s first hit in Dodger blue being an RBI double that allowed Ohtani to score.

Will Smith – who scored the winning run to give Los Angeles the 2025 World Series – tacked on a two-run home run for good measure.

But the Dodgers aren’t thinking about the past, and instead are zeroed in on the new season as a clean slate.

“We obviously enjoyed going back-to-back, but it’s almost like it’s old news,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said postgame.

“We’re not really focused on that anymore. Now we’re focused on Game 2. We do a really good job here of just taking it day by day.

“We know we have a big goal, but the only way to get there is just one step at a time.”

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