Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani looks into the dugout after stealing second base against the Colorado Rockies in the sixth inning of a baseball game on Saturday in Denver.
13:09 JST, September 29, 2024
DENVER (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had two hits and raised his average to .310 in his effort to overtake batting leader Luis Arraez and become the National League’s first Triple Crown winner since 1937, clinching the playoff tied Los Angeles Dodgers helped defeat the Colorado Rockies 13-2 on Saturday night.
Ohtani went 2 for 5 and closed behind four runs from Arraez, who got the night off from San Diego and is hitting .314 on the final day of the regular season.
Ohtani leads the NL with 54 home runs and 130 RBIs. The last NL Triple Crown winner was Joe Medwick of the 1937 St. Louis Cardinals. The last to achieve the feat in the major leagues was Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
Additionally, Ohtani stole his 58th base of a season in which he became the first 50-50 player.
Teoscar Hernández and Kike Hernández each hit three-run homers for Los Angeles, which scored at least 11 runs in consecutive games for the first time since July 21-22 at Texas last year. Teoscar Hernández has 99 RBIs.
Yoshinobu Yamamato (7-2) allowed two runs and four hits over five innings while striking out six, earning his first win since beating the Rockies on June 1. Yamamoto made his fourth start after missing three months with a strained rotator cuff.
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto works in Denver against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning of a baseball game on Saturday.
The Dodgers (97-64) had the Majors’ best record and home field advantage during the postseason when Philadelphia lost to Washington earlier Saturday.
Ohtani singled in the first, grounded in the second, walked and scored in the fifth and singled in the fifth. He flied out in the seventh and grounded out in the ninth.
Kike Hernández, who finished with three singles, hit a 450-foot home run to center in the second inning off Antonio Senzatela (0-1) for a 4-1 lead. Teoscar Hernández’s career-high 33rd homer in the fifth made it 8-2.
Ezequiel Tovar hit his team-leading 26th home game for Colorado (61-100), which reached the losing milestone for the second straight season.
Charlie Blackmon, who retires Sunday after 14 years in the majors, all with the Rockies, was 1 for 4 and scored a run.
