How can you blame Ohtani for a four-pitch?
Five straight singles and a sacrifice fly after an automatic high four. It was a disastrous day for the San Francisco Giants, who managed to avoid Shohei Ohtani (30), but were hit hard by Los Angeles Dodgers batters.
Ohtani walked to first base on an automatic walk in the top of the 11th inning of a 7-7 tie against the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, USA, on March 30 with the bases loaded and two outs.
With the bases empty, the team didn’t think it was necessary to walk Ohtani. However, when Ohtani walked to first base on an automatic high pitch, boos erupted at Oracle Park. While there were a few Dodger fans, the loudest boos came from the home team at Oracle Park, which is dominated by San Francisco fans.
In the end, Ko Ohtani’s fourth pitch was a handshake to San Francisco. With runners on first and second, the Dodgers scored the game-winning run on Will Smith’s two-run double to left-center off San Francisco reliever Sean Jelly. Five straight hits exploded, including an RBI double by Freddie Freeman, an RBI single by Teoscar Hernandez, an RBI single by Chris Taylor and an RBI double by Jason Heyward. Miguel Rojas’ sacrifice fly capped off the seven-run outburst in the 11th inning.
Meanwhile,
San Francisco pitcher Jelly was tagged for eight runs (six earned) on six hits, one walk and one strikeout in 2 1/3 innings, a career-high. His ERA jumped from 2.33 to 3.54, more than a full run. “I asked Jelly to pitch one more inning, and it was unfortunate that he gave up so many runs, but we didn’t have any other pitchers available,” said San Francisco manager Bob Melvin. It was a bullpen day, and the Giants used a total of seven pitchers.
The Dodgers won 14-7 in extra innings. According to MLB.com’s Sarah Lance, the Dodgers’ seven-run extra-inning win was the second-largest margin of victory in franchise history since 1901. 무료고스톱다운받기 It trails only a 12-4, eight-run win over the Milwaukee Braves on Aug. 30, 1954. San Francisco’s seven extra-inning runs were also the most since Aug. 7, 1922, against the Chicago Cubs (eight runs in 10 innings).
Ohtani’s automatic high fly ball set the stage for the big inning by loading the bases, but it was a foregone conclusion. MLB.com also reported that with Ohtani leading off the top of the 11th inning, San Francisco decided to walk the two-time American League (AL) MVP. It’s hard to criticize the decision, given that Ohtani had hit a National League (NL)-leading 26 home runs earlier in the game.
Ohtani homered with one out in the top of the third inning.
He lined a six-seam 85.6 mph (137.8 km/h) slider from right-hander Spencer Howard high and away. The solo shot sailed over the center field wall. His 26th home run of the season, which broke a 2-2 tie, measured 109.7 miles per hour (176.5 kilometers per hour), 412 feet (125.6 meters) with a launch angle of 35 degrees.
Ohtani, who reactivated his home run streak three days and two games after his last one against the Chicago White Sox on April 27, has now hit nine home runs in his last 12 games. After hitting seven in 32 games in March and April and seven in 24 games in May, Ohtani has picked up the pace to 12 in 25 games in June. He opened up a five-run lead over NL runner-up Marcell Ozuna (Atlanta Braves-21) in the category.
Through 81 games this season, Ohtani is batting .325 (102-for-318) with 26 home runs, 62 RBI, 67 runs scored, 45 walks, 73 strikeouts, 16 stolen bases, a .405 slugging percentage, .645 on-base percentage, and a 1.050 OPS. He ranks in the top 10 in every major offensive category in the NL: first in batting average, home runs, runs scored, on-base percentage and OPS, second in slugging percentage, third in RBI, sixth in walks, and tied for eighth in stolen bases.
He leads the league in batting average and home runs, and is just five points behind Ozuna (67) in RBI. A “batting triple crown” is also possible, meaning first in three categories: batting average, home runs, and RBIs. Since 1920, when batting average became the official record in Major League Baseball, there have been 12 triple crowns, the most recent of which was won by Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in 2012 (batting .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBI). It’s also the only Triple Crown of the 21st century. In 12 years, Ohtani will be the first Asian player to win the batting triple crown