Shohei Ohtani homered twice and tied a 119-year-old major league record with four extra-base hits in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night, putting on another historic postseason show at Dodger Stadium.
After his four-hit barrage in the first seven innings, Ohtani issued five consecutive walks in this epic 18-inning World Series game, making him the first major leaguer in 83 years to reach base nine times in any game, let alone the postseason.
The Dodgers eventually won 6–5 on Freddie Freeman's leadoff hit in the 18th.
“The most important thing is that we won,” Ohtani said through a translator. “And what I achieved today is because of this game, and the most important thing is that we turn the page and play the next game.”
Freeman's final clutch hit cleared the fence just over 17 hours before Ohtani makes his first World Series start on the mound when he pitches for the Dodgers in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
“I want to go to bed as soon as possible to get ready,” said a smiling Ohtani.
Ohtani led off the first with a double to right field. He followed it up with a solo homer to right in the third inning off Toronto starter Max Scherzer and added an RBI double in the fifth off pitcher Mason Fluharty during the tying run for Los Angeles.
Ohtani then hit the tying homer off Seranthony Dominguez with one out in the seventh. It was his sixth homers in the Dodgers' last four games and tied Corey Seager's eight homers in 2020 for the most by a Dodgers player in a single postseason.
By then, the Blue Jays had seen enough of Ohtani: Manager John Schneider intentionally walked him in the ninth, 11th, 13th and 15th innings—a gambit that worked every time, with Ohtani's teammates unable to get him home.
Ohtani is the first player to be walked intentionally four times in a postseason game, just one short of the overall major league record for intentional walks set by Andre Dawson in May 1990.
With man on first, the Blue Jays pitched Ohtani in the 17th — but barely — and Brandon Little comfortably pitched four pitches out of the zone.
Ohtani became the first player to reach base nine times since Stan Hack had five hits and four walks for the Cubs in an 18-inning game on August 9, 1942, tying a record also set by Max Carey in 1922 and Johnny Burnett in 1932.
Becoming the first player in MLB history to play three multi-hitters in one postseason, Ohtani is two shy of Randy Arozarena's record for most homers in the postseason.
Only one other player in baseball history had four extra hits in a World Series game: Frank Isbell hit four doubles for the Chicago White Sox in Game 5 of 1906 against the Chicago Cubs.
Ohtani also became the first hitter to have multiple games with at least 12 bases in a single postseason. The only player to make two such postseason appearances in his career was Babe Ruth.
Once again, Ohtani put on an impressive show for the Los Angeles fans who clearly “needed” him, posting his first four-hit game of the postseason in his first game at Dodger Stadium since he hit three homers and struck out 10 against the Milwaukee Brewers in his sensational two-way game during the convincing Championship Series win National League 10 days ago.
Ohtani has six hits and five RBIs in the first three games of the World Series against Toronto, a city where fans chanted, “We don’t need you!” in Ohtani while the Blue Jays won Game 1. Ohtani also scored late in the blowout loss.
Ohtani hit two homers in the Dodgers' first postseason game against Cincinnati, but he didn't hit again until his historic NLCS performance. All three of those homers were singles, and he hit a pair of solo homers in Game 3.
He first hit a 389-foot run inside the right field pole in the third inning.
After Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen gave the Blue Jays a 5-4 lead in the seventh, Ohtani tied the game with a 401-foot homer to left-center.
Ohtani now trails only Arozarena, who set a major league record with 10 homers in the postseason in 2020 before Tampa Bay lost the World Series to Seager and the Dodgers.
Ohtani doubled on Scherzer's second serve in Game 3, although his teammates were unable to bring it home.
Ohtani tied the game when he doubled to left center in the fifth, driving an inside sweeper off Fluharty into the gap for his first opposite-field hit since Sept. 20, through 77 at-bats.
After that double, Ohtani tied the game on Freddie Freeman's single.
The Blue Jays pulled Scherzer right before Ohtani came on and replaced the veteran right-hander with Fluharty, who memorably struck out Ohtani with the bases loaded, avoiding a major jam, to give Toronto a 5-4 victory at Dodger Stadium in August.
Ohtani quickly tried to steal second after being walked in the ninth, but was tagged out as he popped out and was momentarily off base.
Ohtani advanced to second on Mookie Betts' two-out single in the 11th, although he tentatively stopped the bag due to cramping. He stayed in the game, however, and Freeman flied out to end the inning.
With Tommy Edman at third base in the 13th, the Jays intentionally walked Ohtani and Betts to load the bases with two outs. Freeman, who completed Game 1 of last year's World Series with a grand slam, flew 379 feet to the warning track in center.
In the 17th inning, Ohtani had two Dodgers on base with two outs, but Betts popped up and went 1-for-8.
