Ohtani goes 6-6 with three home runs, 10 RBI, two doubles and two stolen bases in 20-4 victory.
For the twelfth consecutive season, the Dodgers are heading to the postseason, as they used an utterly historic performance from Shohei Ohtani to complete a series win over the Miami Marlins by a final score of 20-4.
The Dodgers are now the fourth team in baseball to officially clinch a postseason spot, with the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Guardians being the only other teams to have clinched a postseason berth.
Jack Flaherty took the mound for the Dodgers on Thursday, looking to rebound after posting his worst start as a Dodger against the Atlanta Braves. Edward Cabrera, who allowed four runs in two innings against the Dodgers back in May, took the mound for the rubber match.
The Dodgers wasted no time on offense against Cabrera, as Shohei Ohtani rocketed a leadoff double off the wall to immediately put a man in scoring position. After a Freddie Freeman walk, Will Smith started the scoring with a sacrifice fly to plate Ohtani and give the Dodgers the early lead.
Ohtani would come to collect again off Cabrera in his second at-bat, slicing an RBI single to plate Max Muncy and give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
After a perfect first inning, Flaherty was rudely greeted by Marlins first baseman Jake Burger, who punished a ball over the center field wall to put Miami on the board. Flaherty would rebound after the home run, allowing just one walk over his next nine outs recorded.
After Freddie Freeman popped up to begin the top half of the third inning, Will Smith was plunked by Cabrera to put a man on first, followed by a single from Tommy Edman and Max Muncy’s second walk of the game to load the bases. After two straight bases loaded walks from Gavin Lux and Andy Pages, Cabrera was chased out of the game after tossing 73 pitches to record just seven outs.
The scoring didn’t stop there, as Chris Taylor lifted a sacrifice fly to push the Dodger lead to four. After already starting the game with two hits in the first two innings, Shohei Ohtani split the left center field gap for his second double of the game, driving in two, although he was thrown out at third base trying to extend that double for a triple— that would’ve put Ohtani just a home run shy of the cycle.
A five-spot in the third! pic.twitter.com/sfjiue8ure
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2024
Flaherty bounces back
Jack Flaherty had his worst start of the season in his outing against the Atlanta Braves, recording just three innings of work while allowing four earned runs and four walks in the loss.
After walking second baseman Otto Lopez with two outs in the second inning, Flaherty would retire the next eight batters he faced, keeping Miami to just one hit after four innings of work.
Flaherty allowed Lopez to reach base for the second time before allowing a mistake pitch to rookie outfielder Griffin Conine, who blasted his second major league home run to trim the Dodger lead to four. After the home run, Flaherty was able to settle down and complete six solid innings of work.
It is the 15th quality start on the season for Flaherty, and it is the 16th time this season that Flaherty managed to complete at least six innings of work this season. Although his ERA inflated after allowing three earned runs, Flaherty’s 3.10 ERA on the season places him just outside the top 10 in ERA leaders on the season.
50/50 achieved
After starting the game with a leadoff double, the Dodgers incorporated a successful double steal, as Ohtani and Freeman each swiped a base, with Ohtani in particular securing his 50th stolen base of the season after narrowly escaping the tag from third baseman Connor Norby. Ohtani became the first Dodger to steal at least 50 bases in a season since Dee Gordon stole 64 bases in his All-Star 2014 campaign. Ohtani would promptly steal his 51st base uncontested in the top of the second.
48/50! pic.twitter.com/e9QdIs41yM
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2024
After already adding two doubles and two stolen bases in just his first three at-bats, Ohtani smacked a hanging slider into the second deck in right field for his 49th home run of the season, tying Shawn Green for the most home runs in a single season in franchise history.
Putting on a Sho with homer No. 49! pic.twitter.com/TpiOhimPQM
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2024
The Dodgers added another two runs from an Andy Pages double to stretch the lead to eight, before Shohei Ohtani did the unthinkable. On a 1-2 knuckle curve, Ohtani scorched a ball over the left field wall for his 50th home run of the season. The wait is finally over, as Ohtani became the first ever player to hit at least 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases in a single season in baseball history. He also became the first ever Dodger to hit at least 50 home runs in a single season, surpassing the 23 year old record held by Green.
THERE IS ONLY ONE SHOHEI OHTANI. pic.twitter.com/rKgJtW8h2l
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2024
As if Ohtani had enough after going 5-5 with those historic stolen bases and home runs, he recorded the hat trick, launching his third home run of the game off of infielder Vidal Brujan to give himself a career high 10 RBI on the game and a career high six hits, increasing the Dodger lead to 14 runs. His 6-6 outing with five extra-base hits raised his OPS to over 1.000 for the first time since August 10.
51/51 FOR SHOHEI OHTANI. pic.twitter.com/VoJA2PMFnB
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2024
The Dodgers tacked on three more runs after the Ohtani three run shot to give the Dodgers their first 20-run game of the season, and the first time they scored 20 runs in a game since their 22 run romp of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2021 season.
Game particulars
- Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (49, 50, 51); Jake Burger (27), Griffin Conine (2), Nick Fortes (4)
- WP — Jack Flaherty (13-7): 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
- LP — Edward Cabrera (4-8): 2 1⁄3 IP, 4 hits, 7 earned runs, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers will fly back home to open their final homestand of the regular season, beginning with a Friday night game against the Colorado Rockies (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). The Dodgers have yet to announce who will start the series opener, yet it will likely be a bullpen game. Kyle Freeland will start for Colorado.