Shohei Ohtani made his long-awaited return to Angel Stadium Monday night with the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking on the Los Angeles Angels in the first of their three-game series. It’s been almost a year since Ohtani returned to where it all started, giving Angels fans something to remember him by since joining the Dodgers back in 2024.
Despite wearing new colors, the same old script played out once again when Ohtani hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning — his 100th career homer inside Angel Stadium — giving Los Angeles their first run of the night. Still, the Dodgers trailed 7–1 as he rounded the bases.
No. 42 for Shohei Ohtani 😤
— MLB (@MLB) August 12, 2025
He's homered in 3 straight games! pic.twitter.com/IrN3wduI1q
Shohei Ohtani was forced to revisit his history with the Angels
The historic hit didn’t just give Ohtani a small glimpse of what he once was as an Angel, but it also reignited the “Tungsten Arm O’Doyle” meme that made waves across social media. For reference, back in 2021, a Twitter user quipped:
“Every time I see an Angels highlight, it’s like ‘Mike Trout hit three home runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn’t been done since Tungsten Arm O’Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeat the Angels 8–3.’”
Unfortunately, that joke proved all too real during Ohtani’s Angels tenure, repeating itself once again in Tuesday night’s loss. In fact, from 2018 to 2023, there were at least 10 games in which Ohtani and Trout each hit home runs — or recorded multi-homer performances — only for the Angels to lose. While the number might not sound large on paper, it may have been a leading factor in the franchise losing out on a generational superstar.
The Dodgers couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole Yoshinobu Yamamoto created, as he gave up six earned runs over 4.2 innings. Following Ohtani’s solo shot, Max Muncy added a three-run blast to cut the deficit to 7–4. But it wasn’t enough, as the Angels extended their win streak against the Dodgers to 4–0 this season.
Currently batting .284 with 42 home runs and 78 RBI, Ohtani's slow start to the month has gradually picked up for the better. He's recorded three straight RBIs, all solo home runs. Ohtani will have two more opportunities to send baseballs into the outfield where he once put on a show.
Dodgers fans can only hope those shots come when their team is leading, rather than playing catch-up.