Ohtani hit his 45th homer in the ninth to cap an 8-2 win for the Dodgers over the Padres, then wandered to a Padres fan and shared a playful high-five before joining his teammates. The moment highlighted his personality and provided a moment of levity after a rough 0-for-10 stretch in the series.

LA’s offense snapped out of a slow start, with the win placing them in a tie for the NL West lead as San Diego lost and Seattle beat Cincinnati. Matsui surrendered the blast, but the Dodgers’ big inning and Ohtani’s late power carried the day, underscoring the Dodgers’ continued pursuit in a tight division race.

The celebration and division implications add a fantasy angle: Ohtani remains a marquee producer, while the Padres face mounting pressure in a stacked NL West. The game also underscored Ohtani’s ability to impact a game beyond the box score, a boost for fantasy managers eyeing his power upside down the stretch.

The postgame murmur emphasized Ohtani’s personality as a differentiator in high-leverage moments, a reminder that, for fantasy and betting, context and mood around players can be as valuable as raw stats when projecting outcomes.