This is the clutch ability. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers has made a successful start to his first big league postseason, creating a reversal that had never been seen in the team’s history.
The Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-5 in Game 1 of the 2024 Major League National League Division Series (NLDS) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 6th (Korea time).
On this day, the Dodgers turned the game upside down even after giving up three runs from the first inning, with Ohtani as the first designated hitter at the center. On this day, the Dodgers started with a 0-3 deficit in the top of the first inning when starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto caused a crisis on the first and third bases with no outs, and an infield grounder and Manny Machado’s two-run home run came out. 메이저사이트
However, the Dodgers had Ohtani. The Dodgers ended the first inning without scoring a run, but had a chance with two outs and runners on the first and second bases thanks to a walk by Will Smith and a hit by Gavin Lux in the bottom of the second inning. Ohtani appeared at bat after a fly to the left field in the first inning and pulled San Diego Padres starter Dylan Sheese’s high fastball of 96.9 miles per hour (155.9 kilometers) to score a tying three-run homer. It was Ohtani’s first homerun in fall baseball, and he hit the fence at 111.8 miles per hour (179.9 kilometers).
At the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Dodgers were trailing 3-5, Yamamoto gave up two more runs, Tommy Edman’s surprise bunt hit and Miguel Rojas’ left-handed hit made them the first and second bases. The San Diego Padres replaced the pitcher with left-hander Adrian Morehorn in front of Ohtani. Ohtani, who had a full count match, hit a sinker high 98.4 miles (158.4 kilometers) per hour to make a lucky hit in front of center field.
The Dodgers had a golden chance to load the bases with one out after an opponent’s wild pitch, Teoscar Hernandez’s timely hit to the right gave a runner two runs, and succeeded in a 6-5 comeback. Then, the Dodgers had a double play in the fifth inning with runners on the first and third bases with no outs, but added one more run to make it a two-run gap. Then, the Dodgers maintained its lead until the end as its bullpen blocked the loss.
On the day, Ohtani had two hits, three RBIs and two runs from five times at bat. Having failed to hit 225 home runs in 860 games during seven seasons of the big league, Ohtani displayed impressive performance from his first playoff game.
Since its foundation in 1884, Dodgers has played 141 seasons so far this year, and has never seen such a game. “The Dodgers lost 0-14 in the first inning while trailing by three points,” said Sarah Lang, a statistics expert at MLB.com , the official website of Major League Baseball. “Of those 14 times, there were no games that Ohtani played, but there were today (sixth),” she said, noting Ohtani’s performance.
Referring to Ohtani’s performance after the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “He turned the tide. He gave our team a new opportunity,” and praised Ohtani for being the only player who can perform this stably in such an important game.
On the come-from-behind home run, Ohtani himself said, “Sease is an outstanding pitcher. He rarely throws a real pitch,” adding, “It was a tricky ball, but I was lucky to hit it with a good result.” “I wanted to swing even when I was excited. It was my first time out at bat, but my batting performance was not bad,” he said. “I focused on one at-bat and one at-bat to the point where I couldn’t remember because I kept focusing.”
