Shohei Ohtani busts out of HR drought with Ice Cube in broadcast booth

LOS ANGELES — "Amazing. You couldn't have scripted it better."

The words of legendary Los Angeles wordsmith O'Shea Jackson echoed over the Spectrum Sportsnet LA broadcast as Shohei Ohtani rounded the bases, waving both hands in the air with an undeniable look of relief on his face as he finally put an end to his prolonged home run drought on May 12 at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers commentary team of Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser gave Ice Cube — who was in the booth after throwing out the first pitch on his bobblehead night — the opportunity to analyze Ohtani's homer, and it didn't disappoint.

"He lined that up, sent it right down the middle of the plate. Right where he loves it," Cube said on the call. "And he smacks this thing all the way, goes yard."

Ohtani turned toward his teammates and motioned for the ball once he got back to the dugout, a lighthearted jab from the reigning back-to-back National League MVP toward himself, acknowledging his slump at the plate.

That third-inning tiebreaking solo shot off of San Francisco Giants starter Adrian Houser was Ohtani's first since April 26 — in 52 total plate appearances — against the Chicago Cubs. It was only his second in his last 112 plate appearances dating back to April 12 against the Texas Rangers. It's an unusual cold streak from the player who's hit more than 50 home runs in each of the last two seasons.