It was only six weeks ago, on July 3, that the Los Angeles Dodgers held a nine-game lead in the National League West, their 12th division title in 13 years seen as a foregone conclusion. They have since won only 12 of 33 games.

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.

Starting pitchers to bat leadoff since 1900: Shohei Ohtani 18x 9/22/68 Cesar Tovar (played all 9 positions) 9/27/53 Al Dark (moved to 3B after the 1st, only career game pitched) 9/30/1901 Jim Jones