MIAMI – Shohei Ohtani stole his 50th base and hit his 49th home run against the Miami Marlins on Thursday, putting the Los Angeles Dodgers star just one home run away from the first 50/50 season in major league history.
Ohtani hit a leadoff double against Edward Cabrera and stole third base on the first inning of a double steal with Freddie Freeman, who entered on a walk. Ohtani later scored on a sacrifice fly by Will Smith to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Ohtani recorded his 51st stolen base of the season when he stole second base on a single.
Ohtani has been successful in his last 28 attempts to steal a base.
Ohtani later hit his 49th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the sixth inning against George Soriano that gave the Dodgers a 9-3 lead.
He stole his 49th base in Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Marlins. He hit his 48th home run in the series opener on Tuesday night, connecting on a 1-1 sweeper by Marlins right-hander Darren McCaughan and sending the ball 402 yards to right field.
He is the sixth player in Major League history and the fastest of all time to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season, all in just 126 games.
Manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday’s game that he noticed Ohtani becoming more aggressive on the bases in the second half of the season.
“I also think Shohei has realized how good he has become or can become as a base stealer,” Roberts said. “I think he likes the challenge of studying pitchers and learning their tendencies. I think that’s something that fascinates him.”
Ohtani surpassed his previous career high in stolen bases, which was 26 with the Angels in 2021. He accomplished that as a two-way player, but Ohtani has not pitched this season due to his recovery from elbow surgery, allowing him to focus on batting and baserunning as the Dodgers’ designated hitter.
This report uses information from the Associated Press.
