Ohtani finally did it! 'Two consecutive days of winning hits + 400 hits' LAD district championship...LAD 7-2 SD
Sep 27, 2024
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Ohtani played 3 hits, 1 RBI and 1 run from 5 times at bat, including the winning hit, in the home game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on the 27th (Korea time), and became the main player of the 7-2 victory.
The Dodgers, which decorated the three consecutive games against San Diego with a 2-1 winning series, marked 95 wins and 64 losses and confirmed the NL West title regardless of the remaining games. Until the previous day, the Dodgers had a magic number that won the district championship '2'. He deleted it all at once because he beat San Diego, the second-ranked team in the world, on the same day. As a result, the Dodgers have advanced to the postseason for 12 consecutive years since 2013, achieving a great feat of winning 11 districts during this period.
Ohtani hit the final hit again on the day. The Dodgers tied the game after Will Smith hit a two-run home run in the middle after a walk by Max Muncy, the leader of the seventh inning, trailing 0-2. After one more hit, Kiké Hernández's heavy hit and Andy Farz's catcher's interference with hitting left the first and second bases open.
Ohtani, who then entered the batter's box, pulled left-hander Tanner Scott's 2nd pitch 86.4 miles outside slider and hit a single flowing in front of right field to bring second baseman Kike home. At this time, San Diego right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.'s throw to third base fell back, and Ohtani advanced to second base.
Ohtani, who settled on second base, roared toward his third-base dugout teammates to boost the atmosphere. More than 50,000 Dodgers fans also stood up and cheered and shouted "M~V~P~". Ohtani also hit a heavy hit in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and one and two outs against San Diego the previous day, recording a 4-3 victory.
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Ohtani, who played as a designated leadoff hitter, hit a high fastball in the middle of San Diego right-hander Joe Musgrove's fifth pitch of 94.8 miles in the first inning, but he was grounded out by flowing straight to the shortstop. After two outs in the third inning when the score was 0-0, he grounded out to the first base. If Musgrove's 3rd pitch outside 83.2 mile curve at Tustrike is heavily bound, it was caught by first baseman Luis Arraez.
In the sixth inning, trailing 0-2, he went out as the leadoff hitter and had a right-handed hit. At 1B1S, Musgrove pulled a curveball that dropped into the middle of 82.2 miles on his third pitch, sending a single to fly in front of right field. However, he failed to reach home due to a failed follow-up hit.
Ohtani added a double in his last at-bat. In the bottom of the eighth inning, with two outs and runners on second base, the Dodgers scored a two-run home run to the left, leading to a 7-2 run. Ohtani then completed the three-hit game by hitting a missed double that fell in the left-center against the opponent's changed pitcher left-hander Yuki Matsui.
With this double, Ohtani reached the 400th base of the season. This is the first record in the major leagues in 23 years since 2001. As many as three players, including Sammy Sosa (425), Luis Gonzalez (419), and Barry Bonds (411), recorded 400 hits that year, the peak of the steroid era.
With this, Ohtani marked a batting average of 0.305 (190 hits in 622 at-bats), 53 home runs, 126 RBIs, 131 runs, 56 steals, a on-base percentage of 0.387, a slugging percentage of 0.643, OPS 1.030, 97 long hits, and 400 hits. Together, the two leagues ranked first in scoring, slugging, and slugging, and No. 1 in NL home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
The Dodgers will play the last three consecutive games of this season against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field from the 28th to the 30th. If Ohtani adds two homers, he will build a golden tower of 55 homers and 55 steals.
jhno@sportschosun.com
