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MLB Notes: Shohei Ohtani Still on Pace to Have a 50-50 Season
Despite a dip in his offensive production in September, Ohtani remains on target to become the first MLB player with 50 homers and 50 steals in the same season.
Read the full story on SportsLook - MLB Notes: Shohei Ohtani Still on Pace to Have a 50-50 Season
With 12 regular-season games remaining on the Los Angeles Dodgers schedule, MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani is on pace to finish with 50 home runs and 51 stolen bases.
If he does, he'll become the first player in MLB history to have a 50-50 season.
Ohtani is homerless in his last four games. He's also gone four straight games without a stolen base.
The fan favorite has a career-high 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases through Monday, September 16.
Los Angeles opens a three-game road series against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday.
A feared slugger who gives opposing pitchers nightmares, Ohtani has had a quiet month at the plate in September. He's only hit three homers in 54 at-bats. And he's batting .241 in the season's final month.
But the Dodgers (89-61) are in first place in the National League West and Ohtani is an essential part of the team's success this season.
For instance, although he didn't get a hit on Monday, the pride of Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, had two RBIs, both coming on groundouts, in the Dodgers' 9-0 win over the Braves. Atlanta won the first two games of the series, and Los Angeles bounced back by taking the next two.
Ohtani is now batting .288 this season. He leads the NL in home runs and is second in stolen bases.
Yamamoto Helps Dodgers Blank Braves
Hard-throwing right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched four scoreless innings for the Dodgers on Monday, making his second start since coming off the injured list.
Yamamoto allowed four hits, walked two and struck out three. He threw 72 pitches, 42 for strikes.
When the former Orix Buffaloes ace left the game after the fourth inning, the Dodgers led 1-0. They turned the game into a rout with a six-run outburst in the seventh inning.
"I was pitching in a pinch the whole time," Yamamoto said after the game, according to NHK. "But I pitched with a firm composure and with an awareness of facing each batter one by one. I wasn't feeling great, but with the help of my defense, I managed to get through the [four innings] without allowing any runs."
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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