They have been waiting for a long time after sharpening their swords. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, who are forming a new rivalry in the National League West, will face off in the fall baseball league for the first time in two years. The superstars who are leading them are targeting each other.
The San Diego Padres won the second game of the National League Wild Card Series 5-4 against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park in San Diego, California on Thursday (Korea time). The San Diego Padres advanced to the Division Series by sweeping the wild card series that had best-of-three games.
In the top of the first inning, he allowed Marcel Ozuna to score the first run with a sacrifice fly to the left field. He missed his chance with a scoreless bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the first inning, but with two outs in the bottom of the second inning, Kyle Higashioka’s tying solo shot, Manny Machado’s two-run double and Jackson Merrill’s two-run triple made the turnaround 5-1. Then starter Joe Musgrove left due to an elbow injury and was chased after by Atlanta’s Jorge Soler and Michael Harris II’ two-run shot. However, he advanced to the Division Series by keeping the one-run lead.
San Diego will now face the Dodgers. Recently, the team has been fiercely competing with the Dodgers. After the wild card series ended on the day, loud cries of “BEAT LA!” (Let’s break the LA Dodgers) rang out at Petco Park. As the San Diego Padres strengthened their power, they became a threat to the Dodgers, and Liberley became stronger.
Notably, the San Diego Padres defeated the Dodgers with a 3-1 record in the 2022 Division Series, which further heightened the situation. Dodgers can no longer ignore San Diego’s pursuit. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the title with 98 wins and 64 losses in this season’s district championship. The San Diego Padres are five games behind the latter with 93 wins and 69 losses. However, the San Diego Padres are leading the team with eight wins and five losses.
Both teams are sharpening their swords and have a head-on collision. In the process, superstars are determined to be at the forefront of both teams. Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Fernando Tatis Jr., who is leading the San Diego Padres, are looking forward to the upcoming Division Series clash.
Ohtani will play his first postseason in his seventh year in the Major League. While Ohtani was virtually not qualified to play as a one-man team for the Los Angeles Angels, he was already a regular in the postseason. Ohtani signed a 10-year, 700-million-dollar contract with “Dephyr” to receive 20 million U.S. dollars for the remainder of 680 million dollars after the contract period because he was highly eager to win the title. He thus ceded to recruit other superstar players while easing the luxury tax burden. As a result, he was able to sign consecutive 12-year, 325 million-dollar contracts with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 136.5 million-dollar contracts with Tyler Glasnow for five years, and 23.5 million-dollar contracts with Teoscar Hernandez for one year.
“I want to win the World Series. I want people to look back and tell me that I was a key member and a big part of the championship team,” Ohtani said in a contract press conference with the Dodgers, stressing that he wants to become a player who wants to make a decisive contribution to the championship.
Regarding the suspension of payment and opt-out clause, he said, “They are all aiming at the same goal of winning the championship. Walter and Friedman are the two team leaders, and I think they signed these two,” adding, “I think they are an awesome team in terms of control even if one of them is missing. I wanted to set up a safety net. And the suspension of payment is also my idea. I thought of a way to not burden the club.”
Such determination has been achieved by an all-time high this year. Due to the aftermath of elbow surgery this year, he focused only on batters instead of pitchers, posting a bizarre record of .310 in 159 games with a batting average of .30 (197 hits in 636 at-bats), 54 homers, 130 RBIs, 59 steals, and OPS of 1.036. He joined the club with 50 homers and 50 steals for the first time in history. The MVP of the National League is a given, and the key to victory is unanimous agreement. 메이저사이트
When competing with the San Diego Padres at the end of the regular season, he showed off his clutch ability and expressed intense emotions different from usual. “I had a hit in a good situation, which resulted in a bit of emotional performance. The fans’ enthusiasm and the team’s morale are high. I was able to focus more on that.” Ohtani’s fall baseball season is highly anticipated.
“Since last week, Ohtani has expressed emotions that he has never seen before. He is well aware of the importance of this series against the San Diego Padres ahead of the postseason,” Dodgers manager Roberts said, also representing Ohtani’s mindset.
Tatis Jr. is the opposing point of Otani. He did not have a proper season this year due to the stress-stricken thigh. However, he returned to the team in September and recorded a batting average of 276 (for 310 hits in 398 at-bats) in 102 games, with 21 homers, 49 RBIs and 11 steals in OPS.832.
However, Tatis Jr., who will be playing fall baseball for the first time in four years since 2020, is sharpening his sword. When San Diego won the series against the Dodgers in 2022, Tatis Jr. was not there. He suffered a wrist injury in an off-season motorcycle accident, which later resulted in a suspension after he was found guilty of taking banned substances. He blew all of 2022 and was not able to return until early 2023.
Tatis Jr., who played in the fall baseball, hit hard in the wild card series against the Atlanta Braves. He had four hits, one homer and two RBIs in six times at bat. In the first game of the series held on Sunday, he fired a two-run shot at the first game, signaling his stellar performance in fall baseball this year. His overall postseason performance is 393 (11 hits in 28 times at bat), three homers, seven RBIs and an OPS of 1.300 in eight games.
Above all, Tatis Jr. showed decisive performance against the Dodgers. He had a batting average of 264 (63 hits in 239 times at bat) in 61 games against the Dodgers with 19 homers and 38 RBIs. He also had a strong batting average of 313 (41 hits in 131 times at Dodger Stadium) in 34 games with 12 homers and 23 RBIs with an OPS of .996.
Dodgers’ Ohtani and San Diego’s Tatis’ Big Bang will start at Dodger Stadium on the 6th.
