Wednesday night wasn’t the first time Shohei Ohtani stole the show.

However, it was the first time he had to turn his dog’s attention away.

On a day when fans lined up outside the gates of Dodger Stadium as early as 8 a.m. to get a spot in line for a bobblehead, Ohtani cradled his dog Dekopin (aka Decoy) in his arms, and both his owner and his pet put on a spectacle in the Dodgers’ 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Dekopin received the first big applause of the night and made the ceremonial first pitch by taking a ball in his mouth and running toward home plate, where Ohtani crouched like a waiting catcher.

But then it was Ohtani who led the Dodgers through a thrilling game with another World Series contender in Baltimore, hitting two of the four home runs, his 42nd of the season, two steals (giving him 42 on the season) and driving in three runs.

“I’m telling you,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Every big moment he seems to rise to the occasion.”

Ohtani opened the scoring with a first-inning home run, his first big hit since last Friday’s 40-40 grand slam with a line drive to right field.

He was in the thick of the action in a four-run third inning, hitting a single through three at-bats before Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead three-run homer.

In the fifth inning, Ohtani almost single-handedly gave the Dodgers some insurance. After hitting a line drive that Ryan O’Hearn failed to catch at first base, Ohtani went from first to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch and eventually scored on a two-out error, doubling the Dodgers’ lead by just one run.

“It’s a very special evening,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.

After starting August with a two-week slump (Ohtani hit just .181, albeit with seven home runs, from August 2-19), the favorite for National League MVP ends the month with a bang.

Wednesday was his fifth multi-hit game in the last seven. It was his 10th game of the year with at least one home run and one steal. And before he struck out the seventh in his final trip to the plate, he was serenaded with “MVP!” chants from a sellout crowd of 53,290 that was more than ready to support him.

And his dog.

“I heard Decoy was going to throw the first pitch and — I’m impressed that the dog was already so trained,” Roberts said. “I think if it’s Shohei’s dog, there shouldn’t be anything too surprising. That was pretty impressive.”

Ohtani said he and Decoy had been practicing his first throw for the past three weeks, including a “test run” in the stadium.

“I hope I can buy him a special snack,” Ohtani said.

There were some nerve-wracking moments early on for the Dodgers.

After Ohtani’s leadoff blast, the Orioles hit three runs in a second-inning rally fueled by poor defense. With one out, Max Muncy missed a pitch to first. A batter later, Cedric Mullins grounded out on a pitch in the dirt, but reached after catcher Will Smith apparently forgot to throw the ball to first.

“I don’t know which team played defense in the second inning,” Roberts said

Instead of the inning ending, Ramón Urías hit a two-run double and James McCann added an RBI single.

Shohei Ohtani holds Decoy after his dog throws the first ball for the game.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

And just like so many other times this year, starting pitcher Walker Buehler was on the verge of going off the rails.

This time, however, the right-handed pitcher settled down, found his rhythm and completed perhaps his best start of the season.

With better first-pitch efficiency (13 of 23 on first-pitch strikes) and two-strike performance (he gave up just one hit and one walk in that count), Buehler gave up just one other run in 4⅔ innings on Wednesday — and even that was the result of more bad luck, on an RBI double by O’Hearn, a batter, after Buehler failed to get a clear strike call on a full-count check swing.

“We haven’t seen that in a while,” Roberts said of Buehler. “For him to pick himself up, pick himself up and still throw the baseball the way he was doing, it was a big confidence boost for him, for us, and I’m looking forward to him building on that.”

Buehler still has an ugly 5.88 ERA this season, his first since undergoing a second Tommy John surgery in 2022. He has managed to get past the fifth inning in just three of 11 starts, a stark contrast to the All-Star form he once displayed as the ace of the Dodgers rotation.

But after throwing 90 pitches Wednesday, striking out four and striking out 12, a season record, he at least showed some promise, helping the Dodgers (who also threw 4⅓ innings without a run in the bullpen) capitalize on Ohtani’s big night.

“I’m as encouraged as I’ve been since 2021,” Buehler said. “I didn’t have to tell myself to do something and hope it would work out. I felt a lot more like I could throw the ball over the plate when I picked my leg up … When I go to sleep, I feel like I’m somewhat myself again, and that’s a big thing for me.”

Injury updates

— Tyler Glasnow will resume his throwing program Friday after a previously scheduled session of catch play this week was canceled. Manager Dave Roberts said Glasnow, who was placed on the injured list on Aug. 16 with tendonitis in his elbow, did not feel great after initially starting his throwing program last week.

The Dodgers are hoping things go better for the 31-year-old right-handed pitcher this time around. Roberts acknowledged this week that further delays in Glasnow’s recovery could hamper his ability to fully recover in time for the playoffs.

— Yoshinobu Yamamoto began his minor league rehabilitation with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, allowing one run in two innings, striking out two batters and having a fastball of 94-95 mph.

— Jack Flaherty came in feeling good after pulling a comebacker off his right pitching wrist on Tuesday. Flaherty’s next start is Sunday or Monday — depending on whether the Dodgers decide to use a spot starter Sunday in Arizona (triple-A pitcher Justin Wrobleski could be an option to pitch that day).

— Andy Pages is likely to be the player called up when the squads are expanded in September, Roberts said.

— Austin Barnes (toe fracture) is expected to be activated Thursday. Brusdar Graterol (hamstring injury) also will go on a rehab mission soon, Roberts said.