LOS ANGELES -- One day before the NL Championship Series was to resume in L.A., there was an unusual sight at Dodger Stadium: Shohei Ohtani , taking batting practice on the field.

It's rare to see Ohtani hitting on the field , rather than out of sight in the batting cages. It brought a jolt of energy to the laid-back workout day atmosphere: A snippet of his walkup song, "Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé, blared over the speakers and his teammates whooped with excitement as he walked to the plate for the first time.

Across five rounds of BP, Ohtani parked ball after ball in the outfield seats, including one that cleared them altogether and clanged off the top of the pavilion roof in right field. The uncharacteristic behavior from the two-way superstar may have been part of an effort to

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