Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani hit his 47th home run and 48th steal in a 10-8 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, moving one step closer to Major League Baseball’s first 50-50 season.
The Cubs scored two runs in the first inning before Ohtani unleashed an avalanche of four homers in the second half, starting with a 405-foot line drive to center field off a 1-2 slider by left-hander Jordan Wicks.
Dodgers with bad start to baseball game
“We got off to a bad start because we allowed runs in the first inning, so I wanted to respond right away and get things back on track,” Ohtani said.
The two-time unanimous American League MVP was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, stole second base after issuing a walk in the second inning and scored two runs with a single in the third inning at Dodger Stadium.
“I was able to hit a good pitch and it landed in a good spot,” Ohtani said of the lucky bounce his ball took off the pitcher’s mound.
For the second consecutive game, Tommy Edman hit two home runs for the Dodgers, including a two-run shot that made the score 10-7 in the eighth inning.
Edman led the way with two outs before Will Smith and Max Muncy Ohtani followed with home runs in the bottom of the first, giving the home team a 5-2 lead.
Good match day for Japanese professionals
Seiya Suzuki gave the Cubs the lead with a solo home run in the third inning, adding to the strong performances by Japanese players in the series after teammate Shota Imanaga made the decision in a pitching duel with injured returnee Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday.
Suzuki, who went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs, hit 20 home runs for the second time this season but was ejected from the game on an attempted double steal in the ninth.
The Cubs tied the game at 7-7 by scoring four runs in the fifth, three of which came on former Dodger Cody Bellinger’s home run.
Gavin Lux gave the game the lead in the seventh inning before Edman hit the game’s seventh home run in the bottom of the eighth.
Ohtani hit his previous record of 46 home runs with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, his first MVP season.
