The Japanese media paid interest to Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) and Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres) in the 스포츠토토 Major League postseason.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers won Game 4 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the San Diego Padres,” Japanese baseball media Full Count said on the 10th. “As San Diego coach Mike Shildt predicted Darvish Yu as the starting pitcher for Game 5, Darvish Yu and Ohtani will face off again in a big game.”
The Dodgers won Game 4 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the San Diego Padres with a landslide 8-0 victory over the 2024 MLB postseason at Petco Park in San Diego, California.
“Superstar” Ohtani started as the first designated hitter and recorded one hit, one RBI, and two walks in three at-bats. The Dodgers laid the groundwork for the team’s victory by hitting an RBI timely hit with two outs and runners on first and third in the top of the second inning with a 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers was on the verge of being eliminated from the series after losing five to six games in Game 3 of the NLDS on September 9. It avoided humiliating the team to end the season in the division series for the third consecutive year. It dragged the game to Game 5 on the 12th at Dodger Stadium on its home turf.
As the 2024 NLDS between the Dodgers and San Diego continues in Game 5, Japanese baseball fans will be able to see another clash between Ohtani and Darvish Yu.
In Game 3 of the NLDS held at Dodger Stadium on the 7th, Darvish Yu silenced the Dodgers’ batters with three hits, two walks, three strikeouts and one run in seven innings. In particular, he tied Ohtani to no hits in three at-bats, drawing attention.
Yu Darvish did not allow Ohtani to get on base by displaying his unique and diverse pitching skills. Of the 15 pitches thrown to Ohtani in the third game of the NLDS, he had only one four-seam fastball. By properly mixing the cut fastball with the big curve, splitter and sweeper, Ohtani’s timing was shaken.
After the end of the second round of the NLDS, Japanese sports media “Sponichi Annex” said, “Otani struggled with Darvish Yu’s breaking ball attack,” and added, “He showed how he caught a mistake with intelligent pitching.”
What kind of game Darvish Yu will play against Ohtani in Game 5 of the NLDS is an interesting point to watch not only for Japan but also for baseball fans all over the world.
If San Diego’s main shortstop Kim Ha-sung did not finish the 2024 season early due to his injury, a wonderful scene could have been made in which stars representing Korea and Japan played together on the Major League Baseball’s fall baseball stage.
“The match between Otani vs Darvish Yu will be realized again,” Full Count said, adding, “Fans are shouting ‘It’s like a cartoon’ and ‘It will be a game that will go down in history’.”
“The heat of Japanese fans is already heating up ahead of the match of fate (between Otani and Darvish),” he said, adding, “On SNS, people are posting that they can never miss Game 5 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and San Diego.”
