In a game that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers fall 6-5 to the San Diego Padres, Shohei Ohtani added another remarkable achievement to his stellar baseball career.
Ohtani stole a base on Tuesday night, making him only the second player in MLB history to have at least 32 home runs and 28 stolen bases in a season before August.
Ohtani’s achievement mirrors that of Alex Rodriguez, who in 1998 hit 32 home runs and stole 30 bases before August while playing for the Seattle Mariners.
Rodriguez finished that season with impressive stats: 42 home runs, 46 stolen bases, a .310/.360/.560 slash line, and a 136 OPS+.
By the end of July that year, Rodriguez had accumulated 32 home runs and 30 stolen bases with a .294/.347/.554 line over 108 games.
With one game left before August, Ohtani has the opportunity to surpass Rodriguez’s mark of 32 home runs and potentially tie his 30 stolen bases.
During the game, Ohtani’s stolen base came early. After drawing a walk from Padres’ starter Matt Waldron, he stole second base and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Lux, contributing to the Dodgers’ early lead.
However, the Padres rallied back from a five-run deficit, ultimately securing the win.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Padres’ outfielder Jackson Merrill tied the game with a solo home run off former All-Star Blake Treinen.
The game continued into the 10th inning, where pinch-hitter Donovan Solano singled off Alex Vesia, driving in Ha-Seong Kim for the game-winning run.
This loss marks the Dodgers’ third defeat in four games, narrowing their lead in the National League West standings. Los Angeles now holds a 63-45 record, just 5.5 games ahead of the Padres, who improved to 58-51.
The Dodgers aim to bounce back in Wednesday’s game with Clayton Kershaw on the mound for his second start of the season. The Padres will counter with Dylan Cease in the series finale.
Years down the road when his career is officially over, where will Ohtani rank among the best players in baseball history???