LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani took a bow on Friday in the only way he knows how.
With debates still raging on whether or not he just played the greatest single game in MLB history on Thursday, Ohtani flew across country, got to bed in the early-morning hours then showed Friday night that there is plenty more left in the tank.
Ohtani’s two-run home run in the fifth inning rallied the Dodgers to a 6-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies, one day after the team clinched a playoff spot for the 12th consecutive season. The Dodgers (92-62) remain four games ahead of the second-place San Diego Padres (88-66) in the NL West and are four games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers (also 88-66) in the race to secure a top-two seed and a first-round bye in the NL playoffs.
Ohtani made Thursday’s clinching party possible with a six-hit performance on the road against the Miami Marlins on Thursday that included three home runs, two doubles, 10 RBIs and two stolen bases.
He redefined Sept. 19 on his own personal timeline from the day he had elbow surgery in 2023 to the day he basically clinched the National League MVP in 2024. Yet instead of basking in the glow one day later, he added another home run and stolen base to the pile, his 52nd of the season in both categories.
Ohtani set another major league record by homering and stealing a base for the 14th time in the same game, passing the mark of 13 games set by Rickey Henderson in 1986 with the New York Yankees.
Asked if a 60-60 season was possible with the season near an end, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said no, hedged his bet, said again that it wouldn’t happen then seemed to be noncommittal again.
“I would say it’s unrealistic. Very unrealistic,” Roberts said. “With him, anything’s possible, but it’s certainly very unrealistic. And it’s just, man, what a tremendous season.”
The highlights of Ohtani’s season played nearly nonstop before the game. He received a standing ovation as he approached the plate to lead off the bottom of the first inning and then earned another ovation after a tribute video that prompted him to tip his helmet.
But the Dodgers’ offense looked out of sorts less than 24 hours after their long travel commitment and went into the bottom of the fifth trailing 2-0. That’s when Andy Pages led off with a home run off Kyle Freeland, Max Muncy doubled with one out and Ohtani crushed a two-out blast 423 feet to center field for a 3-2 lead.
The Rockies tied it on a home run from Sam Hilliard in the fifth inning off left-hander Alex Vesia. Teoscar Hernandez got the run back with his own home run in the sixth, his 30th of the season. He reached 30 home runs for the second time in his career and is two off his career best – set in 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Vesia (4-4) still earned the win in a bullpen game when only Brusdar Graterol pitched more than one inning. Graterol struck out three in his two innings of work.
Of the eight Dodgers pitchers who took the mound, four gave up a single run: Joe Kelly, Daniel Hudson, Vesia and Michael Kopech.
Kopech pitched the ninth inning for his 14th save.
More to come on this story.
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