To Shohei Ohtani (30, Los Angeles Dodgers), the most important thing was not batting order. He led his team to victory by banking on his monstrous batting performance in any batting lineup.
Ohtani started as the first designated hitter in the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) away game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on the 21st (Korea time) and played an active role with one hit, two walks, one strikeout, one RBI and one run from three times at bat, including a preemptive solo home run.
As a result, Ohtani’s batting average for this season edged up from 0.317 to 0.318, while his on-base plus slugging percentage also rose from 0.388 and 0.608 to 0.391 and 0.615, respectively. His on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) became 1.006.
Ohtani, who played four consecutive games as the No. 1 hitter after Mookie Betts, who played a huge role as a top hitter and shortstop, left due to a finger injury, is showing off his original mission as well as his long-range power. On top of that, Ohtani flew as if he had wings as the Coors Field effect, known as the “Pitchers’ Tomb,” overlapped.
He took the lead in homers alone in the National League, and his OPS also returned to 1. Above all, he has played the role of an “excellent leadoff” with a batting average of 0.444 (eight hits in 18 times at bat), two homers and seven RBIs and three walks in the recent four games.
Ohtani, who entered his first at-bat in the top of the first inning to face off the opponent’s starter, watched the sinker on the outside of the first pitch and picked out two or three pitches. Blach persistently played a low ball game outside, but a four-pitch sinker came to the center, and Ohtani did not miss it.
Ohtani’s hit flew quickly to center field. Colorado center fielder Brenton Doyle jumped, but the ball went slightly beyond his height and headed out of the fence.
Ohtani, who hit a home run at Coors Field once again two days ago, beat Marcel Osuna (20 home runs) to become the lone lead in the National League (NL) home run.
In the top of the second inning, with two outs and runners on the first and third bases, he did not actively respond to Blach, who was playing a passive game, and walked out without difficulty. With the bases loaded with two outs, Will Smith’s ball was caught in the glove of left fielder Sean Butchard and failed to score.
In the top of the fourth inning, he struck out swinging at a changeup that sank to the bottom of the zone from the full count. I watched the first pitch toward the center, and it was regrettable that the curveball on the third pitch became a foul.
Ohtani, who picked up the first and second pitches with one out and first base in the top of the sixth inning, watched the third and fourth pitches and hit a five-pitch changeup, but the ball was sucked into center fielder Doyle’s glove.
In the eighth inning, he successfully got on base for the third time. When Chris Taylor stole the base with two outs and a runner on the first base, the opponent team did not overdo it and intentionally kicked four pitches to fill the empty first base. Smith grounded out an infield grounder.
In the top of the third inning, the Dodgers scored an additional run. With one out, Teosca hit an RBI single and Paige hit an RBI double. Miguel Vargas then hit an RBI single to right field, which was running away with a three-run gap.
In the top of the fourth inning, Smith and Freeman consecutively drew arches. With two outs and no runners at the batter’s box, Smith hit a sinker over the six-pitch zone and hit a 137 meter solo home run over the central fence. Freeman then took the batter’s box and hit a back-to-back home run (No. 11) by targeting Blachy’s curveball that was driven to the center.
He faced a crisis in the bottom of the sixth inning with only five points to keep his lead. Stone gave up a straight walk to Butchard and allowed Toglia to walk again with one out. The Dodgers bench moved and Blake Treinen on the mound, but a four-seam fastball to Montero rushed to the center for a hit. With the bases loaded with one out, the cutter to Cave again headed to the center, and it became a timely two-run homerun that brought in two runners.
However, Daniel Hudson, who took the mound in the seventh inning, blocked it with three outs, but Alex Besia, who took the mound in the eighth inning, was hit by leadoff hitter McMahon. The four-seam fastball escaped the zone, but McMahon hit a 110.9 mph (178.5 km) fastball over the right-center fence (No. 13).
The Dodgers took the mound with closer Evan Phillips in the bottom of the ninth inning with three out counts remaining, struck out Goodman with three pitches, pinch-hitter Nolan Jones with a fly ball to left field, and struck out Toba with a sweeper that bends greatly to the bottom outside.
The Dodgers avenged its loss the previous day by winning 47 games and losing 30. Colorado recorded 26-49. 토토사이트 순위