LOS ANGELES — For years, the baseball world has wanted to see this Shohei Ohtani On nights like these.
For years, he’s changed what we think about baseball talent. Last winter, he changed what was possible for himself, signing up not just for hundreds of millions but, finally, for a chance in October.
The calendar hasn’t quite flipped yet, but Ohtani has arrived. Los Angeles Dodgers The power of his bat came alive on Wednesday, hitting the lead twice on his $700 million player swing and feeling every bit of life it gave him.
After his first hit, a two-out rocket off the wall for a double, Ohtani spread his arms in triumph. When he gave the Dodgers the lead with a two-strike, two-out single, he let out a loud roar in the dugout to mark the annual celebration.
The Dodgers could pop the bottles as soon as Thursday after a 4-3 win on Wednesday. San Diego PadresAnd they would have won the NL West for the 11th time in 12 seasons. Ohtani realized that.
Shohei knows the clutch! pic.twitter.com/TgBbraVk2G
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 26, 2024
one night later lose miserably And by at least hinting at a possible disaster, they turned the ship in the right direction.
They can thank their otherworldly superstar, who is set to write the next chapter of his astonishing first season with his new club.
“He’s raised the level of his play,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani, who has now reached base in 21 of his last 28 games, during which he has hit five home runs and seven stolen bases.
Ohtani is in the midst of one of the most spectacular offensive performances of all time. Now, it comes with stakes. More than anything, he has breathed life into a group that needed it.
“We need that,” Roberts said. “I expect our players to be emotionally exhausted, exhausted every game, from now on moving forward. If they don’t do that, they’re not giving up enough games. … It’s personal. It has to be personal. To win championships, we have to have that mindset moving forward.”
The Dodgers again faced disaster. For the second time in two nights, they took a lead in the first inning, but immediately found themselves in trouble. Jack Flaherty He struggled to find his command and struggled for five innings against a Padres lineup that makes more contact than any other in the game. A drop in velocity only widened that gap.
When Flaherty gave up a two-out fastball Fernando Tatis Jr. In the fifth over, a Padres player drove the ball to the middle of the pavilion, approximately 448 feet from home plate, tying the score.
It took until the fourth for the offensive game to come alive against the Dodgers Dylan Cease And took a lead of one run. Tommy Edman hit a two out double in the gap, coming on to score and make it a 2-2 game when Gavin Lux Broke a 4-for-37 drought with a line drive that just sneaked up Xander Bogaerts‘ glove to the shortstop for a single run.
after a miguel rojas Drawing a walk, Ohtani cut down on the first pitch. When the 116.8 mph rope left his bat and ricocheted off the wall, he froze at the plate, breaking the tie and racing to second.
Shohei next! pic.twitter.com/ZJ7hmlhdFM
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 26, 2024
After Tatis’ blast tied the score again, Ohtani was back at the plate in the sixth. Again, with two on and two outs. After seeing two fastballs above the zone for strikes, he waited for San Diego Adrian MorejonWhen Morejon missed another fastball on the outer half of the plate, he hit it through the hole for another two-out run, giving the Dodgers the lead for good.
The outpouring of emotions was remarkable and emotional.
“You see emotions you’ve never seen before and you’ve seen that last week,” Roberts said. “He’s smelling the postseason and understanding how important these games are. … It excites us. When your best player plays with emotion, everybody follows.”
Fire us up, Shohei. pic.twitter.com/ekf7xv12sx
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 26, 2024
“You see it, and you get really excited,” Max Munsey Said.
Ohtani has embraced his platform. For years, his every move has been watched by millions. Yet this stood out, even for him.
“There’s some uplifting feeling when it comes to playing these meaningful games,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.
This is what Ohtani has been waiting for. These are the changes the Dodgers have been hoping for. And yet, over the first few months of the season, a small subplot developed underneath Ohtani’s stellar offensive season. Until about a month ago, his OPS with runners in scoring position was still at .696.
The course has improved. Ohtani clinched the fastest 40-40 season ever with a walk-off grand slam. He became the first player to go 50-50 when he drove in 10 runs in a game. Entering Wednesday night, that OPS statistic had reached .847.
The Dodgers have been keeping a close eye on Ohtani as he approaches October 1. Roberts said a few weeks ago that for the Dodgers to get where they need to go, they will have to rely on Ohtani not to pick them up but to take what he can with him.
“He’s handling it exactly the way I expected he would,” Roberts said. “It’s a playoff atmosphere. You can see they’re trying to crowd him and then put him away and he’s just waiting patiently for his pitch and when he gets the chance he makes something happen.”
On Wednesday we got to know how big it can be. On Thursday it can be even bigger.
“I just want to be able to do that, and hopefully be able to celebrate in front of the home fans, that’s something I’m looking forward to,” Ohtani said.
Given the questions surrounding the Dodgers’ starting pitching, this is a formula the Dodgers may have to rely on to get anywhere in October. Get enough from Flaherty. Trust their lineup depth. Get an impressive bullpen performance (four innings, no hits allowed).
And trust one of the best talents the game has ever seen.
So far it is working.
“The truth is, we still have the best record in baseball,” Roberts said. “It may not feel like it, but … I could tell tonight what we were going to accomplish and that’s exactly what we did. We came out with a big win.”
(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagen Images)