Translation result.
[mdtoday = Reporter Kim Gyo-sik] Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers delivered a vintage two-way performance that rewrote Major League Baseball history.
On May 21 at Petco Park in San Diego, California, Ohtani started for the Dodgers and dominated both on the mound and at the plate against the San Diego Padres.
Ohtani worked five scoreless innings, throwing 88 pitches while allowing three hits and no runs. Batting leadoff, he swung at the first pitch from opposing starter Randy Vasquez in the top of the first inning and drove it over the center-field wall for a leadoff home run. The Dodgers went on to win 4-0, and Ohtani’s blast stood as the game-winning hit.
MLB stats analyst Sarah Langs noted this was Ohtani’s seventh career game in which he started, allowed no runs and hit a home run. That breaks the mark held by legendary pitcher Bob Gibson, who had six such games, making Ohtani the all-time leader in this category since 1900. It was also only the second official game in which Ohtani, as a pitcher, hit a leadoff home run — the first came in Game 4 of last year’s National League Championship Series.
The performance drew extra attention because it came right after Ohtani resumed two-way duties. After struggling at the plate following the April 23 game against the San Francisco Giants, he temporarily focused solely on pitching for three games. On Thursday he excelled both on the mound and at the plate, signaling a full return to his two-way role.
After leaving the mound, Ohtani remained in the lineup as the designated hitter and stayed in the game through the final out, helping seal the victory. The Dodgers expect his return to two-way play to provide a stable boost to the club’s lineup moving forward.
Real-time Popular Articles
- Kiwoom Heroes hire Lee Yong-gyu as first-team hitting coach
- Choi Hyung-woo passes legendary sluggers — KBO’s first 1,000 extra-base hits milestone within reach
- Lee Jung-hoo gets a break on his back injury; likely to be removed from the injured list
Most Commented