, despite assurances from the Dodgers they had manufactured enough for everybody. After two different bobbleheads created similar crowds last year, this one featured Ohtani accepting his third MVP award and first in the NL.

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It looked like that crowd would be disappointed. Blake Snell, who joined the Dodgers on a five-year, $182 million deal last offseason, had his second straight rocky start after yielding two earned runs, five hits and four walks in five innings in the Dodgers' home opener. The Dodgers came back in that one as well, with another homer from Ohtani.

This one bit Snell a little more. By the end of the fourth inning, the Dodgers were down 5-0 after he allowed five unearned runs with five hits and four walks. Shaky command has been a recurring theme for the Dodgers rotation this season, with Roki Sasaki the other pitcher having issues, and it left Los Angeles with its biggest deficit of the season.

It was also their season high in runs allowed in nine-inning games.

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Then the two units that have been absolutely working for the Dodgers this season took over. A bullpen unit of Ben Casparius, Kirby Yates and Jack Dreyer combined for five scoreless innings with three hits allowed and six strikeouts, while the lineup started chipping away at the Atlanta pitching staff.

Home runs by Tommy Edman and Michael Conforto brought the Dodgers within two runs, then Max Muncy tied the game in the eighth inning with an RBI double. Muncy was 0-for-3 before that at-bat while trying out the new torpedo bats, but went with his usual lumber and posted his biggest hit of the season.

And then, Ohtani. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone in baseball after the Dodgers' title in 2024 and arguably MLB's best offseason during the winter, but this team is looking like an absolute nightmare to outrace over the course of nine innings.