By Ricardo Lopez Juarez
24 Aug 2024, 01:33 AM EDT
On a night that will long be remembered by Los Angeles fans, Shohei Ohtani made history by hitting a grand slam in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a dramatic win 3-for-7 over Tampa Bay on Friday night. With that blast, the Japanese superstar became the club’s first player to post a 40-homer, 40-stolen-base season.
Shohei Ohtani had reached the 40-base mark in the fourth inning, when he easily stole second base after reaching on an infield hit. With that, the table was set for his next home run to join the ranks of the Five Major League players who previously had 40-40 seasons: Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Ronald Acuña (2023).
And that moment came in the perfect way for the Dodgers. With the game tied 3-3, Ohtani stepped up to bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning and two outs.On the first pitch from left-handed pitcher Colin Poche, Ohtani connected on a curveball to right-center field.
The ball cleared the wall by about 3 or 4 feet and the madness began at Dodger Stadium, as the historic achievement by Ohtani, who is in his first year with the Dodgers, ended the game and gave the Dodgers their fifth consecutive victory.
The Dodgers trailed the Rays 3-0 early, but tied the score in the fifth inning thanks to a three-run homer by Enrique Hernandez.
In the ninth, Will Smith was hit by a pitch from Mexican reliever Manuel Rodriguez. Tommy Edman singled and Miguel Rojas advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. After a groundout by Gavin Lux, Max Muncy walked Poche to load the bases before Ohtani swung at him on the first pitch and produced the most epic moment of this season at Dodger Stadium..
By reaching 40-40 in his 126th game of the year, Ohtani becomes the fastest man to do so, and thus raises his hand as a leading candidate to take home the NL MVP award in his first year in the circuit after joining from the neighboring Angels, where he twice won the American League’s highest honor.
Ohtani, after his most memorable night in a Dodgers jersey, He is first in the National League in home runs (40), first in slugging (.614), first in OPS or on-base plus slugging (.992), first in runs scored (97), second in runs batted in (92)second in stolen bases (40), second in walks received (69), third in hits (146), fourth in OBP or on-base percentage (.378) and sixth in batting average (.292).
News in development.