ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2014 Shohei Ohtani might have found a new way to innovate. The Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 two-way superstar hit a ball Saturday night against the Los Angeles Angels that bounced over the fence \u2026 and stayed in play. Ohtani came all the way around to score on a triple and an error after the ball hit off the netting in right field at Angel Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something Shohei can do,\u201d Mookie Betts said after the Dodgers\u2019 15-2 win. \u201cNot a lot of guys can be fast enough to get around the bases, but Shohei has figured out a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ohtani looked to have hit at least a double into the right-field corner off Angels reliever Alek Manoah to bring home a run when the ball bounced in fair territory and off the extended netting down the line. When the ball struck the netting, right fielder Jo Adell raised his arms as if to signal the ball should be dead. He then picked it up and fired it home.<\/p>\n
Max Muncy and Alex Call scurried home, and Ohtani continued running to third until he noticed Adell\u2019s throw overshot second baseman Oswald Peraza, who was the cutoff man. Ohtani said the netting never came up during his tenure as an Angel from 2018 to 2023 \u2014 but he knew to keep on going.<\/p>\n
SHOHEI GOES FROM HOME TO HOME. pic.twitter.com\/8c35ZaR74a<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI just kept running,\u201d Ohtani told SportsNet LA through interpreter Will Ireton.<\/p>\n Ohtani sprinted home before Manoah could collect the baseball and throw it to the plate.<\/p>\n \u201cI turned around and Shohei was coming home, and I\u2019m like, \u2018What happened?’\u201d Call said. \u201cI didn\u2019t find out until later. But I guess yeah, the ball\u2019s in play there.\u201d<\/p>\n The three runs extended the Dodgers\u2019 lead to 9-2 in the eighth inning and raised at least some temporary confusion.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have a good vantage point,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cSo I didn\u2019t know if a fan interfered with it, or if it was down the line further. So I thought, yeah, just a Little League home run. It was good to see him hustling.\u201d<\/p>\n The call was confirmed after replay review and a long discussion in which Angels manager Kurt Suzuki appeared to argue the ball should be dead due to fan interference and that Ohtani should be awarded an automatic double instead.<\/p>\n According to the Angel Stadium ground rules<\/a>, \u201ca ball that strikes the front of the netting, even if it hits the camera, is live and in play unless it becomes lodged or is otherwise deemed unplayable (i.e. goes completely through the netting).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a tough one, obviously,\u201d Suzuki told reporters. \u201cBefore the nets were down the line, that ball bounced into the stands, and it\u2019s two bases. But we challenged. We thought maybe a fan might have hit it in, and they didn\u2019t, obviously. So, you know, unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n Major League Baseball\u2019s universal ground rules<\/a> further stipulate that \u201ca live ball (batted, thrown or otherwise) striking any screen or protective netting set on the field facing a wall or railing (e.g., a backstop or protective netting along the first or third base lines) and rebounding onto the field is live and in play.\u201d<\/p>\n Shohei clears the bases! pic.twitter.com\/LvRJA7490q<\/a><\/p>\n