The day of destiny has dawned. Whether Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers) will continue his postseason career seven years after his Major League debut depends on just one game. Coincidentally, the pitcher who will face off at the match where his team’s fate is determined is Yoo Darvish (36), a “Nihonham Fighters senior,” who humiliated Ohtani without a hit five days ago.
Ohtani will start the game against San Diego as the first designated hitter in Game 5 of the 2024 MLB postseason National League Division Series (NLDS) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 12th (Korea Standard Time).
The Dodgers, who came back home from the brink of collapse, will play a final showdown with Otani (designated hitter), Mookie Betts (right fielder), Freddie Freeman (first baseman), Teoscar Hernandez (left fielder), Max Muncy (third baseman), Will Smith (catcher), Kike Hernandez (center fielder), Gavin Lux (second baseman), and Tommy Edman (striker). The starting pitcher will have a showdown with Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who lost five runs in three innings in the first game.
San Diego that calls for “Beat LA” will face off with Luis Arraez (first baseman), Fernando Tatis Jr. (right fielder), Jurickson Profar (left fielder), Manny Machado (third baseman), Jackson Merrill (center fielder), Xander Bogaerts (striker), David Peralta (designated hitter), Jake Cronenworth (second baseman), and Kyle Higashioka (catcher). The starting pitcher will be Darvish, who led the team to victory in the second round.
Ohtani swung the bat with two hits, one homer, three RBIs and two runs from five times at bat, including a three-run tie in the second inning in the first game of the NLDS on Saturday, when he made his debut in autumn baseball. With Ohtani’s performance, the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-5 to gain the upper hand.
However, Ohtani’s momentum was completely dampened when he met Darvish in the second game of the NLDS on Sunday. Ohtani struck out on an outside slider in the first inning of the first inning, grounded out to the first base in the second inning of the third inning, and grounded out to the pitcher after a full count match in the third inning of the sixth inning. Ohtani, who had no hits and one strikeout in three times at bat only for Darvish, had no hits in the final four times at bat on the day, and his bat got cold. On the other hand, Darvish played seven innings with just 82 pitches, and led San Diego to a landslide 10-2 victory by allowing three hits, two walks, three strikeouts and one run.
The two players, who are between the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese professional baseball (NPB), faced off as Ohtani wore the Dodgers uniform ahead of this season. Ohtani won the first game of the big league stage against Darvish, who started the opening game of the “2024 Major League World Tour Seoul Series” at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on March 20. Ohtani, who grounded out to shortstop in his first at-bat, had a hit to the right in his second at-bat. It was his first hit in the regular season wearing a Dodgers uniform. Ohtani then stole the second base and succeeded in stealing his first base of the season.
As Darvish went on hiatus, their showdown took place six months later on the fall baseball stage. “[Darvish] is a star player that I have seen since childhood. He is a player that I always looked forward to when I was playing in Japan and when I was playing in the MLB 메이저놀이터. It means a lot to me to be able to play with such a player,” Ohtani said in a press conference ahead of the first postseason.
“I think the best thing about (Darvish) is that he can throw evenly and well, regardless of which type of pitch he plays. I want to respond to that, and the most important thing is that the team must also follow the situation. Personally, I am also looking forward to a showdown between Yamamoto and Darvish,” Ohtani said at a press conference ahead of the fifth match.
Ohtani, who had been silent against Darvish in the second game without a hit, is raising his batting sense again with one hit and one run from four times at bat in the third game, and one hit from three times at bat, one RBI and two walks in the fourth game. Attention is focusing on the fifth game of the NLDS to see if Ohtani will succeed in avenging himself in the rematch against Darvish and continue his fall baseball.
