On a night when Mookie Betts returned to the lineup after missing eight weeks with a fractured hand, Shohei Ohtani reminded everyone why he is still one of the game’s best players.
Ohtani crushed a 424-foot opposite-field homer in the fifth inning for his 36th of the season. It was the first 3-0 count homer of his career.
“He has the green light [3-0],” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He can fire whenever he wants to.”
Ohtani entered Monday with 134 career plate appearances that ended on a 3-0 pitch. His at-bats ended in a walk 128 times and he was 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles in the other six.
The Dodgers’ designated hitter inched closer to a 40-40 season when he walked in the seventh and then stole second base. He is up to 36 homers and 33 stolen bases this season.
Peralta tried to blow a 93-mph four-seam fastball off the outside corner past Ohtani. Instead, he watched Ohtani reach out and tag it with a projected 107 mph exit velocity, according to Statcast.
“It was very impressive,” Peralta said. “I don’t know how he was able to hit it that hard, and to the opposite side, too. At least it was probably the best hitter in the game. I should have made better pitches to him earlier.”
The Dodgers chose to keep Ohtani in the leadoff despite Betts’ return to the lineup. Since he was inserted in the top spot on June 17, he’s slashing .281/.393/.663 with 17 homers and 39 RBIs in 46 games.
Having Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández behind him in the lineup enables him to stay aggressive with runners on base because if he doesn’t connect, one of them might.
“Just being aggressive overall throughout the at-bat was important for me,” Ohtani said. “But also recognizing that Mookie, Freddie and Teo were behind. I think being aggressive, even in a 3-0 count, would be smart.”
The Dodgers went on to win 5-2 but the bigger story is how the lineup is finally coming together. Gavin Lux is the team’s hottest hitter and had a homer robbed on Monday night. Kiké Hernandez has been hot since he began wearing his new glasses and Max Muncy could return soon.
“Not just me, but as a team I think we really feel the depth of our lineup,” Ohtani said. “It really showed tonight in how we played.”
Photo Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
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