SAN DIEGO — Shohei Ohtani stood atop the rubber, wiped his brow and fixed his cap. The rival crowd at Petco Park was alive with anticipation as Fernando Tatis Jr. dug into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and the Padres down by three runs.It was the bottom of the fifth inning of a series finale in mid-May, but the recent rivalry between these division foes has heightened the atmosphere of each game to a playoff-caliber setting, regardless when they’re played. Ohtani, pitching and hitting in the same game for just the third time this season, sensed the moment as well. He nodded at catcher Will Smith, exhaled and diced in an 87 mile per hour sweeper that started off the plate and tailed away even more.That didn’t stop Tatis from swinging away. He rolled over on the pitch, sending it directly to shortstop Mookie Betts, who promptly turned it for an inning-ending double play.Ohtani responded with one of his most emphatic reactions in a regular season game in recent memory. He surged off the mound with both fists clenched and a deep yell, and pumped his fist several times as he bounded towards the visitors dugout, stopping only to high-five Betts as he yelled “Atta boy, Mookie.”“As a pitcher, you know when it’s a crucial moment,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.Ohtani did not have his best stuff in the Dodgers’ 4-0 blanking over the Padres on Wednesday night. That didn’t stop him from posting five scoreless innings, dropping his season ERA to 0.73. It also didn’t stop him from homering on the first pitch of the ballgame. Ohtani continues to show his dominance as arguably the best pitcher in the National League. But it’s worth noting the adjustments and concessions that come with being baseball’s unicorn.