Nick Ahmed expressed his love and gratitude for his former Giants teammates, but now wearing rival Dodger Blue, he's focused on beating them.
On Thursday -- his second day with Los Angeles -- he did exactly that.
"It's fun," Ahmed told reporters after the Dodgers' 6-4 win over the Giants at Dodger Stadium. "I've got a lot of great friends and teammates over there that I love. Those are good guys -- but now I'm trying to beat them.
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"So it's a lot of fun. It's funny how the timing worked out. [I'm] just excited to help us win a game today."
Two weeks after Ahmed was released by the Giants, the veteran shortstop signed a contract with Los Angeles just a few hours before first pitch on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
In Thursday's series finale, the Giants managed to rally back late with a two-run eighth inning to tie things up.
But not for long.
San Francisco Giants
In the bottom of the inning, Ahmed, facing his former teammate and Giants pitcher Tyler Rogers, knocked an 83-mph sinker into the centerfield bleachers for his first homer as a Dodger -- giving his new team the lead against his former.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani gave the Dodgers an insurance run with a 360-foot homer on the very next pitch, and Los Angeles took three of four from San Francisco with an eventual 6-4 victory.
The NL West-leading Dodgers improved to 62-42 on the season, while the Giants fell to 49-55 and dropped their second consecutive series since returning from the All-Star break.
"It's a lot of fun. That's what I'm here to do," Ahmed said. "I'm here to play my game and help us win games. I love that we're a winning team here and will play for a championship hopefully in a couple months. So I'm just doing my job, going out and playing defense and trying to compete at the plate."
Ahmed signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in the offseason but was released on July 10 after slashing .232/.278/.303 with one home run in 172 plate appearances.
The 34-year-old spent the next two weeks in Arizona working out, making some adjustments, and waiting for his next opportunity.
That is when the Dodgers called.
"Honestly, right before the Giants let me go, I feel like I was in a good spot," Ahmed said. "I came back from injury, didn't play great right away but I made some adjustments the day I actually got let go and I kind of carried that into the two weeks I was down.
"So I feel like the swing is in a good spot. I always kind of hit a midseason stride. Summer's usually my best month so I'm excited to keep rolling with that and keeping things simple at the plate."
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