LOS ANGELES – On Monday night, as the Dodgers celebrated Freddie Freeman's home run in Game 3 of the World Series, Shohei Ohtani joined the crowd at home plate.
He enjoyed the position play of the team's players for a moment before breaking away from the crowd and running down the left field line, waving his arms above his head. Ohtani headed straight for Yoshinobu Yamamotowho walked out of the bullpen after preparing for the game and gave the Dodgers right-hander a big hug.
This scene perfectly illustrated Ohtani's two-sided nature. Even during the celebrations, he finds time to work as both a hitter and a pitcher.
The Dodgers' 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays featured many heroes in 18 innings. There was Freeman, who hit the game-winning homer off Brandon Little, and reliever Will Klein, who pitched four scoreless frames to earn the win. Even Clayton KershawThe future Hall of Famer, pitching in his final season before retiring, had his time to shine as he walked in relief and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 12th inning.
Kershaw answered questions about all of the above in the home clubhouse at Dodger Stadium before turning the conversation to Ohtani.
“I mean, we haven’t even talked about Shaw,” Kershaw said. “He came to the base nine times. He's about to start work, I don't know, 12 o'clock. It's pretty incredible.”
Ohtani took control of the game in a way few others have ever done. If it seemed like he hadn't gotten this World Series figured out yet, that quickly changed Monday, whether it was by swinging the bat or leaving it on his shoulder.
The best baseball player on the planet hit two home runs, hit two doubles and walked five times. He became the first player to reach base nine times in a postseason game, and his four intentional walks were also a playoff record.
“Another one for Shohei,” teammate Mookie Betts said. “Another record broken.”
“Nobody touches it,” starter Tyler Glasnow said. “It still shocks people.”
Ohtani's second homer of the night came off Blue Jays reliever Ceranthony Dominguez in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5, bringing fervor to the crowd of 52,654. Blue Jays manager John Schneider refused to allow Ohtani to impact the game again and later admitted to reporters that Ohtani could have expected many more free passes to first base in the series, which the Blue Jays now trail 2–1.
“He was in front of a big offense, and John sensed it and wasn't going to let Shohei beat him at all,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
However, even if he is not allowed to take another shot, Ohtani will still have the opportunity to determine the path of this fall classic. The right-hander will make the first World Series start of his career when he faces Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
That was the plan all along, and it didn't change despite Ohtani's busy night as the designated hitter during the 6-hour, 39-minute bout.
“He spent,” Roberts said. “He was on base nine times tonight, running the bases. He's delighted. But yes, he will take the mound tomorrow. He will be ready.”
Ohtani resumed pitching in June after his right elbow recovered from his second Tommy John surgery. He has since convinced his Dodgers teammates that he simply defies the physical constraints that shape their world.
They're not surprised he's going to start Game 4.
“It's a tough task physically, but if anyone can do it, it's him,” said Dodgers pitcher Emmett Sheehan, another hero of Monday's victory. “I don't think anyone else would have agreed to this. But behind the scenes he takes such good care of his body. That's who he is.”
Ohtani poses a tough challenge for the Blue Jays as they look to play even in the best-of-seven series. He pitches a stellar six-inning, 10-strikeout performance against the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS and posted a 2.87 ERA and 1.90 FIP over 14 starts and 47 innings during the regular season. His strikeout percentage of 33.2 is a career high and his walk rate of 4.3 percent is a career low.
Simply put, the future four-time MVP is at the peak of his powers.
“[He presents] a lot of problems,” Blue Jays shortstop Andres Jimenez said recently. “I mean, he's throwing 100 now with an elite slider and a really good split.”
Shortly after surviving the crowd scene on the field, Freeman spoke well of his teammate.
“He’s a unicorn—there are no more adjectives that can be used to describe Shohei,” Freeman said. “We've been talking about him since he came here in 2018. We still don't have enough words to describe a player who appears once every ten generations.”
