Another notable achievement is just around the corner for Shohei Ohtani.
His next home run will mark his 300th in the major leagues.
He hit No. 299 during the Dodgers’ first extra-inning game of the season, clinching an 8-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
The match had a little bit of everything.
The Dodgers’ offense ramped up during the middle innings.
In the ninth, Tanner Scott’s mishap gave the substitute closer a three-run lead, which was quite the twist.
Ultimately, the Rockies snagged a narrow win in extras, with catcher Dalton Rushing landing a punch on Cole Carrig, sparking a bench-clearing moment.
A walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th sealed the deal.
Ohtani’s homer turned an early deficit around, propelling the Dodgers to a 2-1 advantage with a shot to the opposite field.
In the fourth inning, his two-run blast stretched the lead to 6-1 after a sequence that began with Kyle Tucker’s single, followed by Teoscar Hernandez, who advanced to third. Max Muncy then hit a single to send Tucker home, while Miguel Rojas contributed with a sacrifice fly for Hernandez.
Ohtani then hit a double, placing runners on second and third. His next hit drove both of them in, showcasing his ability as a $700 million player.
With this outing, Ohtani recorded a 9-for-16 performance against Rockies starter Kyle Freeland—three home runs and nine RBIs.
Interestingly, he hadn’t homered in his last five games, but meeting Freeland seemed to shake him from that brief slump.
Monday’s homer was his 19th for the season and the 128th in three seasons with the Dodgers.
He remains the major league home run leader from Japan, leaving Hideki Matsui’s 175 home runs far behind.
What it means
The “Freddie” chants were noticeably louder at Dodger Stadium, likely due to fans receiving Freddie Freeman bobbleheads. Freeman himself hit a single in his first at-bat.
The Dodgers have become the first team in baseball to achieve 60 wins, holding a significant 14-game lead in the National League West— the largest margin across the majors.
Who is hot
When the Dodgers traded Eric Lauer two months ago, they acquired him merely for cash, which turned out to be a wise move.
In eight games with the Dodgers, Lauer has posted a 3.12 ERA, a solid figure for a 31-year-old pitcher who was considered a stopgap until Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow returned from injuries.
He kept the Rockies to six hits and three runs over six innings.
Who is not?
Despite a rough first season, reliever Tanner Scott is now having a decent year.
Having appeared in 39 games this season with a 2.70 ERA, he also saved 12 games while closer Edwin Diaz was sidelined after surgery.
However, Scott made a rare mistake on Monday, relinquishing a three-run lead in the ninth. Faced with two outs and the bases loaded, Carrig’s double initially seemed to give up three runs, but a replay review corrected the last run due to interference by Miguel Rojas.
To the next
The Dodgers will continue their series against the Rockies on Tuesday, with Justin Robleski (10-2, 2.80 ERA) slated to start for the Dodgers and Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.91 ERA) for the Rockies.
