Shohei Ohtani moves closer to batting leader Luis Arraez in his pursuit of the Triple Crown, raising his average to .310 after two hits in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ commanding 13-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night. This performance not only highlights Ohtani’s exceptional talent but also places him in the spotlight as he aims to become the National League’s first Triple Crown winner since 1937.
With a 2-for-5 outing, Ohtani is now just four points shy of Arraez, who is hitting .314 after taking a break from the San Diego game. As the regular season edges towards its conclusion, every hit counts in this thrilling race for batting supremacy.
Leading the National League with 54 home runs and 130 RBIs, Ohtani is on the brink of making history. The last player to achieve the Triple Crown in the National League was Joe Medwick with the 1937 St. Louis Cardinals, while Miguel Cabrera was the last to do so in Major League Baseball back in 2012.
In a remarkable season, Ohtani also stole his 58th base, marking him as the first player to reach the coveted 50-50 milestone, showcasing his versatility and speed on the field.
Teoscar Hernández and Kike Hernández each contributed with three-run homers, and the Dodgers have now scored at least 11 runs in consecutive games for the first time since July 2022. Teoscar Hernández is on the verge of a personal milestone with 99 RBIs this season.
[Related: How Shohei Ohtani, without half his powers, rewrote MLB history again and went 50/50]
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2) pitched effectively, allowing just two runs and four hits over five innings while striking out six. This win marks his first since defeating the Rockies on June 1, following a three-month recovery from a strained rotator cuff.
With a record of 97-64, the Dodgers secured the best record in Major League Baseball, guaranteeing home-field advantage throughout the postseason after the Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Washington Nationals earlier in the day.
During the game, Ohtani’s contributions included a single in the first inning, a groundout in the second, a walk and a run scored in the fifth, and another single later in the same inning. He also flied out in the seventh and grounded out in the ninth.
Kike Hernández, who ended the night with three hits, launched a 430-foot homer to center off Antonio Senzatela (0-1), extending the lead to 4-1. Teoscar Hernández’s career-high 33rd homer in the fifth inning pushed the score to 8-2.
Ezequiel Tovar added to Colorado’s tally with his team-leading 26th home run, but the Rockies (61-100) reached the century mark in losses for the second consecutive season.
Charlie Blackmon, who will retire after 14 years with the Rockies, contributed one hit and scored a run, marking a poignant moment in his final game.
