Shohei Ohtani moves closer to a historic 50-50 season with a home run and a steal in the Dodgers’ win over the Cubs

CNN
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Shohei Ohtani moved within touching distance of MLB history on Wednesday night when he hit his 47th home run and 48th stolen base of the year, setting up hopes for the league’s first 50-50 season.

The two-time AL MVP had a terrific game, hitting 2-for-4 home runs, collecting three RBIs and a walk to help the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago Cubs and clinch a series victory in a thrilling 10-8 win.

Ohtani is currently making history in almost every game and has now surpassed his personal record for most home runs in a season after hitting 46 for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021. The Japanese star is now just two away from tying the Dodgers’ franchise record of 49 home runs hit by Shawn Green in 2001.

The closest to the 50-50 mark of 50 home runs and 50 steals were Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, who stole 73 bases and hit 41 home runs in 2023, and Alex Rodriguez, who hit 42 home runs and stole 46 bases as a member of the Seattle Mariners in 1998.

“When he hits the ball at 118 miles per hour from that height, it’s usually a double,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, according to MLB.com. “But for Shohei, it’s a home run. He’s playing incredible baseball. You can see that he’s helping us out tremendously.”

Ohtani’s teammate Max Muncy was equally effusive in his praise. “He’s unbelievable,” the third baseman said, according to MLB.com. “Every night I feel like he’s doing something we’ve never seen before. Tonight he’s hitting a ball 118 miles per hour. I feel sorry for the fan who tried to catch him. Everything he does is so impressive, it’s fun to be a part of it.”

The Cubs started well in their attempt to win the series, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning. But the Dodgers hit back with five runs in the first inning and immediately turned the game on its head.

Ohtani was of course first to go and hit his home run to right-center field. After two outs, Tommy Edman continued his impressive form with a two-run home run to left field to give the Dodgers the lead.

LA wasn’t done there, though. Will Smith was next, hitting an almost identical shot to make it 4-2 before Muncy chipped in with his own home run.

It’s only the seventh time in Dodgers history that they’ve hit four home runs in a single inning, and with Muncy’s hit, LA becomes the first team since the Braves in 1994 to hit two consecutive first-inning home runs in multiple games in a season.

Ohtani stole his base in the second inning before Seiya Suzuki’s solo hit in the third inning cut the Dodgers’ lead to two, but a two-run single by Ohtani extended the lead again to 7-3.

The Cubs came out on top in the fifth inning with a three-run home run by Cody Bellinger and an RBI single by Pete Crow-Armstrong that tied the game at 7-7. However, the Dodgers responded with an RBI single by Gavin Lux in the seventh inning and another two-run home run by Edman in the eighth inning – giving the center fielder two straight games with two home runs.

With the score at 10-7, the Cubs were unable to catch up. Isaac Paredes’ sacrifice fly in the ninth inning was the last significant action of an excellent game.

Ohtani now has 16 regular-season games left to hit the three home runs and two stolen bases he needs, starting Friday with the Braves.