Roberts: Ohtani, Bonds 'two best players I've ever seen'

Count Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts among those in awe of how Shohei Ohtani continues to deliver in big moments.

The skipper showered his star player with praise after he hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the ninth inning of Friday night's roller-coaster 14-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"Between him and Barry Bonds, they're the two best players I’ve ever seen," Roberts said, according to Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

"I played with Barry. But what Shohei does in the clutch - I've never seen anything like what he does in the clutch."

Ohtani delivered his MLB-leading 12th home run on a night when the Dodgers needed a hero. Los Angeles took an early 8-3 lead but gave up a game-tying grand slam to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the fifth inning. Arizona then tacked on three more runs to enter the ninth up 11-8.

Run-scoring hits by Andy Pages, Enrique Hernández, and Max Muncy kick-started the rally that culminated in Ohtani's dramatic blast.

"(Ohtani) keeps getting put in these spots that you expect the incredible, and he rarely disappoints," Muncy said. "And that is no different there."

The four-time All-Star has caught fire of late, recording a 1.481 OPS with six home runs over the last two weeks. On the season, he leads MLB in triples (four) and runs scored (43), and he's stolen 10 bases.

Ohtani won his third MVP in the last four years in 2024 after hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases.

The Dodgers own MLB's best record at 26-13.