Shohei Ohtani (30, Los Angeles Dodgers) finally ended his hitless nightmare in 22 at-bats without a runner.
Ohtani started as the first and designated hitter in Game 4 of the 2024 Major League Baseball National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the New York Mets at City Field in Queens, New York on the 18th (Korea time) and hit a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning.
After facing left-hander Jose Quintana, Ohtani singled out an outside sinker and hit a 90.8 mph sinker that flew towards his body for the second time to significantly hit the left-center fence. It was a large arch that flew 422 feet (129 meters) at 117.8 mph (189.6 kilometers).
It was Ohtani's third career home run and his first leadoff homerun in the Major League postseason for the first time this year. Prior to the game, Ohtani had no hit in 22 postseason games, which made him agonizing over whether he could hit a home run or not when there was no runner at all. On the other hand, Ohtani displayed strong batting average of 0.778 (seven hits in nine at-bats) when he had a runner.
However, LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts trusted Ohtani and kept the leadoff position. Ohtani rewarded his faith with a leadoff home run in nine games.
Since then, he has maintained a good batting sense, continuing to score after getting on base with a walk in the top of the third inning and a walk in the top of the fourth inning, playing a 100% role as a leadoff.
The Los Angeles Dodgers on the day consisted of Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Mookie Betts (right fielder), Teosca Hernandez (left fielder), Tommy Edman (striker), Kike Hernandez (third baseman), Max Muncy (first baseman), Will Smith (captor), Andy Farggs (midfielder), and Chris Taylor (second baseman). The starting pitcher was right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 안전놀이터
Against this backdrop, the New York Mets lined up Francisco Lindor (striker), Mark Vientos (third baseman), Pete Alonso (first baseman), Brandon Nimmo (left fielder), Starling Marte (right fielder), J.D. Martinez (designated hitter), Jose Iglesias (second baseman), Harrison Bader (center fielder), and Francisco Alvarez (catcher). The starting lineup is left-hander Jose Quintana.