Leadoff Shohei Ohtani (30, Los Angeles Dodgers) completely fills the vacancy of Mookie Betts. However, the Colorado Rockies, not the Dodgers, who came from behind to win the game the previous day, secured a finishing win.
Ohtani started as the first designated hitter in the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) away game against Colorado at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on the 20th (Korea time) and hit two hits, one strikeout, three RBIs and one run in five times at bat.
Dodgers has set up starting lineup with Ohtani (designated hitter), Freddie Freeman (first baseman), Teoscar Hernandez (left fielder), Andy Page (center fielder), Jason Heyward (right fielder), Gabin Lux (second baseman), Cavan Biggio (third baseman), Kike Hernandez (striker) and Austin Barnes (catcher). Bobby Miller started as starting pitcher in his return match from injury. 토토사이트 추천
Colorado faced Brenton Doyle (midfielder), Ezekiel Tobar (striker), Ryan McMahon (third baseman), Jacob Starling (catcher), Michael Toglia (first baseman), Sean Butchard (left fielder), Jake Cave (right fielder), Erehuris Montero (designated hitter) and Adael Amador (second baseman). The starter was Ryan Feltner.
After Mookie Betts, who played shortstop and top hitter at the same time, suffered a broken finger, Ohtani came out as the first batter in three consecutive games. With three hits including two doubles and four on base from the first day, Ohtani showed off his hot batting performance as the first batter by hitting multiple hits including a home run the previous day.
He swung the bat boldly from the first pitch in his first at-bat on the day, but started the game with regret with a ground ball to the third base.
In the top of the second inning, he started as a troubleshooter when runners were lined up. The Dodgers started the game after giving up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, but Ohtani appeared at the batter’s box with the bases loaded with two outs and hit a four-seam fastball with three pitches at 96.5 miles per hour (155.3 kilometers) and hit a three-run double that hit the left-center field with a bullet-like 108.5 miles (174.6 kilometers).
In the top of the fourth inning, he hit Feltner’s high four-seam fastball hard in the absence of two outs, but he grounded out to the third base because the ball did not fly.
Ohtani made a multi-hit with two outs in the top of the sixth inning when Nick Mears took the mound. He hit a low curve at the ball count of 1-2, sending a ball to right field. Freeman hit a ground ball to the third base and failed to score.
In the top of the eighth inning, Colorado sent Jake Bird to the mound, but the Dodgers put up pinch-runner Barnes after Quique’s double with two outs. With Smith’s walk, Ohtani hit a sinker and slider with two outs and runners on the first and second bases. Ohtani displayed aggressive pitching. He inserted a three-pitch slider into the bottom of the zone, and Ohtani froze. Rookie strikeout.
Ohtani’s batting average for this season also increased from 0.316 to 0.317. In the three games he played as the first batter, he had a batting average of 0.467 (seven hits in 15 times at bat) and had four long balls, including one home run. With one more walk to get on base, Ohtani’s batting average is 0.500, far exceeding that of an ordinary first batter.
Colorado Rockies got the upper hand in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, McMahon’s hit and Starling’s walk saved the opportunity, and Toglia delivered a fatal hit to Miller, who was about to return to the mound. With the ball count in advantage of 2-0, he targeted Miller’s four-seam fastball at 97.9 miles per hour (157.6 kilometers) per hour and hit his sixth three-run homer in the season.
The Dodgers immediately fired back at him in the top of the second inning. With one out, Luxe had a hit to the left, Vizio had a hit to the right, and Quique’s walk to fill the entire base. After Barnes struck out swinging, Ohtani hit a three-run double that brought in all the runners, and Freeman had a hit to the right field to bring in Ohtani. The game came from behind to win 4-3.
Colorado Rockies did not back down easily. Following Toglia’s triple, Butchard hit a grounder to the third base to bring Toglia home.
The Dodgers immediately hit back. Following Pages’ hit in the top of the fifth inning, which started with Freeman’s hit, Hayward pulled the curveball to hit a two-run double that directly hit the fence.
Colorado started chasing after him again in the bottom of the seventh inning. Butchard hit a double and headed for the third base when Cave hit a grounder to the first base. The Dodgers put in Daniel Hudson instead of Miller, but lost point as third baseman Vizio missed Montero’s grounder. Amador’s double and Doyle’s sacrifice fly made the game 6-6 again.
With the score tied at 6-6, the Dodgers started offensively in the top of the ninth inning with two outs, raising expectations and sending in pinch hitter Miguel Rojas. However, he swung the bat from the first pitch to right field.
Colorado, which overcame the crisis, had an opportunity in the bottom of the ninth inning. Cave and Montero had 47 hits in a row to hit Johan Ramirez, a changed pitcher. With no outs and runners on the first and second bases, the crisis was critical. Amador grounded out to shortstop, but the runner headed for the second and third bases. Colorado eventually laughed. Doyle targeted Ramirez’s sweeper and made a sacrifice fly to center field, and Cave, who tagged-up, dug into home to secure the finishing win.
Miller won the showdown with the starting pitcher by decision. Miller pitched 79 pitches, allowing six hits (one homer) and three walks, two strikeouts and five runs, while Feltner allowed seven hits, two walks, six strikeouts and six runs during five innings. The struggle for the bullpen has divided feelings of joy and sorrow. Ramirez became the losing pitcher by allowing two hits and one run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Jellen Biggs, who pitched in the top of the ninth inning without allowing any score, secured his third win (three losses) of the season.
In Colorado’s lineup, Toglia, who hit a home run, made two hits, three RBIs and two runs from four times at bat, and Doyle also contributed to his team’s victory by scoring two RBIs without a hit. The Dodgers, which lost three consecutive games, recorded 46-30 losses, while Colorado recorded 26-48.