Shohei Ohtani returned to Dodger Stadium on Friday as a conquering hero after winning the first 50-50 season in MLB history. And then he kept doing what he does best.
After reaching 50-50 and 51-51 in the same game, the Los Angeles Dodgers star opened the 52-52 club with a homer and steal against the Colorado Rockies. Facing Rockies starter Kyle Freeland in the fifth inning, Ohtani worked the count to the limit, then threw a pitted ball to deep center field.
There aren’t many hitters who can throw a ball that high and throw it 410 feet the other way.
Two innings later, Ohtani reached with a single and then advanced to second on the first pitch to Mookie Betts.
It was the 14th game this season in which Ohtani has hit both a home run and stolen base in the same game, breaking the record of 13 set by Rickey Henderson in 1986.
The Dodgers eventually won 6-4.
Ohtani is now one homer shy of Aaron Judge for the MLB lead and is 9-for-10 with four homers, two doubles, three steals, six runs and 12 RBI in his last two games. The bulk of that production came against the Marlins on Thursday, when Ohtani pulled to a 50-50 draw not only in style but with one of the best offensive games in MLB history.
Ohtani hit his 49th, 50th and 51st home runs of the season and stole his 50th and 51st bases of the season, all in the same game, combining an unprecedented season-long performance with the 16th 10-RBI game in MLB history. It was also the first three-homer, two-steal game in MLB history, all on the anniversary of his can’t-believe-it’s-not-Tommy-John surgery (Ohtani received an internal brace on his UCL on Sept. 19, 2023).
The only downside to the magical evening was that it was an away game, though Ohtani still got a round of applause at Miami’s Depot Park. Dodgers fans did their best to make up for it by giving him a standing ovation for his first at-bat, which earned a wave from Ohtani.
Ohtani may be 50-50, but it remains to be seen how far he can go into uncharted territory with homers and steals. And then there’s the matter of the playoffs.
The 92-62 Dodgers won the playoffs on Thursday and hold a four-game lead over the San Diego Padres for the NL West title with eight games remaining. Wherever they finish in Ohtani’s first postseason, they’ll also have to overcome a series of pitching injuries if they hope to bring Ohtani a ring.
