Shohei Ohtani made a strong statement.
After helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win Game 3 of the NL Championship Series with a three-run homer in the eighth inning, Ohtani received some friendly teasing from his teammate Freddie Freeman.
“Freddie talked to me to make sure that I joined the party earlier than later,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
In Game 4, Ohtani responded by launching Jose Quintana’s second pitch into the New York Mets’ bullpen in right-center field and pointed toward the Dodgers dugout as he left the batter’s box.
“I was able to do that this time in my first at-bat,” he said Thursday night after the Dodgers won 10-2, taking a 3-1 lead in the series and getting closer to the World Series.
Ohtani took the first pitch from Quintana for a ball, then sent a sinker over the plate 422 feet for his third homer of the postseason. He began the night 0 for 22 in the playoffs when no one was on base but was 7 for 9 with two homers and eight RBIs when there were runners on.
“I think it was bigger for Sho just getting a hit with no one on base,” said teammate Max Muncy. “Pretty wild numbers.”
Ohtani’s leadoff homer was the seventh in Dodgers postseason history. “He just has a superpower that you and me can’t do,” Mookie Betts said this week.
The 117.8 mph drive was the third-hardest-hit postseason homer since Statcast started tracking in 2015, following Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber in last year’s NLCS (119.7 mph) and the New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton in a 2020 AL Division Series (118.3 mph).
“I can’t even hit the ball that hard with an aluminum bat, and Shohei is doing it,” Freeman said.
Quintana hadn’t given up a home run in his last eight starts since August 20.
Ohtani’s postseason numbers are not as strong as usual: a .235 batting average, three homers, nine RBIs, nine walks, and no stolen bases.
He led the National League with 54 homers and 130 RBIs in his first season with the Dodgers after signing a record 10-year, $700 million contract. He also stole 54 bases, making him the first player to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season. Still recovering from elbow surgery in September 2023, he isn’t pitching this year.
Last week’s important fifth game victory over San Diego in the Division Series was the most-watched postseason baseball game on record in Japan, averaging about 12.9 million viewers, according to MLB.
Ohtani’s most recent home run was hit just after 9 a.m. Tokyo time. “I’m sure it’s not easy for the people in Japan to be able to watch these games because of the time difference,” Ohtani said.
