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Dodgers left: Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Walker Buehler
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Dodgers left: Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Walker Buehler

Shohei Ohtani returned to Anaheim on Tuesday for the first time since signing his lucrative contract with the Dodgers.

During his six seasons as a member of the Angels, Ohtani has never had a winning season. The 2018 team finished with just 80 wins, the most any of Ohtani’s teams has ever recorded this season.

Now, after beating his former team for the third time this season and his new team finishing with a season-record 29 games above .500, Ohtani hasn’t looked back at what could have been during his time in Anaheim, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

When asked if he might have re-signed with the Angels if they had, Ohtani said, “The reality is, I haven’t gotten an offer, so I can’t say. The reality is, I’m doing my best with this team, and I’m doing my best with the goal of making the World Series. I think I can handle that just fine.”

He certainly tried his best (even though he wasn’t pitching) and is still the favorite to win his third MVP award.

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The Dodgers have now won 11 of their last 14 games after Tuesday’s extra innings, but it wasn’t enough to extend their division lead over both the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

For recently emerged Freddie Freeman, worrying about current division leadership isn’t at the top of his priority list, notes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“I mean, we’ve got 20-plus games left,” said Freeman, who was coming off a series in which he hit four homers and drove in 10 runs against the Diamondbacks. “So when you’re looking at division leaders this early in September, you’re doing the wrong thing.”

Walker Buehler put an end to most of the troubles he’s had earlier in the season (aside from two errant pitches) on Tuesday by limiting the Angels to just two runs in five innings with six strikeouts, the most he’s had in a start since May 31 against the Colorado Rockies.

Buehler’s performance over the remainder of the regular season will determine where he lands in the team’s postseason rotation, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio writes.