Shohei Ohtani is forced to take cover as Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts rips dangerous line drive into dugout

By ALEX RASKIN

One MVP nearly took out another on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, where Shohei Ohtani was lucky to survive a foul line drive off the bat of teammate Mookie Betts.

Ohtani launched a 448-foot bomb for his sixth home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the first inning off of Colorado Rockies pitcher German Marquez. But while the reigning National League MVP was celebrating in the dugout alongside catcher Austin Barnes, Betts was fouling off a 94mph sinker directly at his Dodger teammates.

‘Look out in the dugout,’ one of the Dodgers announcers could be heard saying in the clip, which has since gone viral.

Cameras caught Ohtani and Barnes both breathing a sigh of relief after the liner narrowly avoided both players. And while Barnes looked to be a bit more startled, Ohtani couldn’t help but laugh after going from celebrating a homer to cowering in fear.

‘That should be, like, a no-sit zone,’ the other announcer added. ‘Especially for Shohei.’

Obviously there is no good time to lose a generational player like Ohtani, but his health is of particular concern at the moment as the two-way sensation aims to return to the mound following his second Tommy John surgery.

Ohtani and Barnes both breathed a sigh of relief after the liner crashed into the dugout

Ohtani couldn’t help but laugh after going from celebrating a homer to cowering in fear 

Moments earlier, Ohtani launched a 448-foot bomb for his sixth homer of the young season 

Ohtani tossed a 26-pitch bullpen session earlier this month in the latest step towards his return to the hill. He previously pitched on March 29 and February 25.

‘It’s a week, but then there’s also the one in between, where he touches the mound on a Thursday,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on April 5. 

‘And I think it’s just more trying to keep him on a similar seven-day program, and what the schedule would look [like] going out, and build from there.’

Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery on his pitching below in September of 2023 when he was still a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

Since then, he signed a heavily back-loaded $700 million deal with the crosstown Dodgers, whom he led to a World Series crown last October.

For his career, Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts as a pitcher.

The Dodgers would go on to add six more runs in the first inning, but the visiting Rockies battled back , cutting the score to 8-7 by the top of the seventh.

Ultimately, that’s the way the game would end as LA closer Tanner Scott struck out the side in the ninth. 

The Dodgers will now head to Texas to face the Rangers on Friday, while the Rockies travel back to Denver to host the Washington Nationals. 

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Shohei Ohtani is forced to take cover as Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts rips dangerous line drive into dugout

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