Shohei Ohtani’s monster game nearly buried a Dodgers debut worth remembering

Making a major league debut has to be an intimidating venture for any player, no matter who they're suiting up for. But on Thursday, Dodgers' top prospect Dalton Rushing was joining a lineup with three MVPs at the very top, all poised to do something amazing at any given moment.

Shohei Ohtani is the man that everyone comes to see. Thursday also happened to be Ohtani's second bobblehead night of the year (out of four), and he didn't disappoint, hitting two homers to match Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber's MLB-leading 15 en route to a 19-2 rout of the Athletics.

Rushing didn't bring any of those runs in, but he did represent three of them. He reached in three of his five at-bats, first with a walk and then two singles. Ohtani's first RBI of the night scored Rushing after he led off the inning with a five-pitch walk.

Every Dodger in the starting lineup came away with at least one hit in a display of total dominance over Sacramento, but Rushing's solid first effort in the majors shouldn't be overlooked.

Dalton Rushing's solid MLB debut shouldn't get lost under Shohei Ohtani's two-homer night, Dodgers' rout vs. Athletics

Although Dave Roberts' plan for Rushing — around two starts behind the plate per week and pinch-hitting opportunities — is still kind of unsatisfying in terms of a long-term vision for him, Austin Barnes being DFA'ed does make it seem like Rushing is going to have the entire season to settle in. Hunter Feduccia is back in Triple-A if Rushing doesn't find a groove at the plate, but the Dodgers will want to give their No.1 prospect a real chance to settle in and show the team what he can do.

It's notable that Rushing scored his first run on an Ohtani sac fly. By mid-April, Ohtani's home run and RBI numbers were dramatically imbalanced, but he was being held back by the lack of production from the bottom of the lineup, who weren't getting on base to give him RBI opportunities. Rushing was able to do that with just one at-bat, and Hyeseong Kim is turning into an on-base machine (.467). He scored on both of Ohtani's homers.

Rushing also called a nice game behind the plate, guiding Matt Sauer through four innings of two-run ball, Anthony Banda through a scoreless inning, and then Justin Wrobleski (who Rushing has caught in Triple-A) through the last four, when he gave up just one hit and struck out four. As far as first impressions go, Rushing's was pretty commendable.