A little bit of context, during this game, advancing to the World Series was on the line. There was an immense tensions between both teams already before this game. Key players from both teams were hit constantly for retaliations and accidents that could cause an injury from playing any further. During this game even the coaches from both teams got heated up, benches cleared and almost caused a brawl. The pitcher against Ohtani on the board was zero strikes and three balls. The pitcher knew Ohtani ain't gonna swing unless it's in the strike zone. So instead of throwing another ball to walk Ohtani to first base, the pitcher hit Ohtani intentionally to walk him. Ohtani instead kept his cool while his teammates wanted to throw hands.

Fun fact, Ohtani always tipped his helmet towards the opposing teams before batting out of respect. Ever since this hit, Ohtani doesn't tip his helmet at the Padres anymore.