LOS ANGELES — With a 40-40 season in his back pocket, Shohei Ohtani now has 50-50 vision.
Ohtani dialed up perhaps one of the most dramatic moments in an accomplished career when he crushed a game-ending grand slam on Friday night and gave the Dodgers a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
His fourth-inning steal of second base was his 40th of the season and set the stage for history. On the first pitch from Rays left-hander Colin Poche in the ninth, Ohtani dropped his 40th home run of the season over the wall in right-center field.
The blast set off a wild celebration both at home plate and later along the railing of the third-base dugout when Ohtani was doused with multiple buckets of ice water. It is about the only way to cool off the MVP candidate.
Ohtani joined a 40-40 group that also includes Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano and Ronald Acuña Jr., who accomplished the feat last season for the Atlanta Braves. Ohtani is the fastest player to reach the mark: Soriano did it in Game 148 for the Washington Nationals in 2006; the Dodgers played their 129th game Friday (it was Ohtani’s 126th game).
Kiké Hernandez hit a game-tying three-run home run in the fifth inning as the Dodgers rallied to win their fifth consecutive game and improve to 11-3 since Aug. 9. Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller started and gave up two early home runs before he recorded nine strikeouts with no walks.
The Dodgers’ rally in the ninth inning started when Will Smith was hit by a pitch. Tommy Edman singled and Miguel Rojas bunted both runners into scoring position. After Lux was robbed of a game-winning hit to right field by Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, Max Muncy walked to load the bases.
Ohtani ripped into an 84-mph slider from Poche and hit it 389 feet into history.
With the victory, the Dodgers maintained their four-game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West and their 4½-game advantage over the San Diego Padres.
Early returns suggested that Miller’s hopes of finding the form that has been projected for him remains a work in progress. He gave up Junior Caminero’s first home run of the season three batters into the game and Christopher Morel took him deep for a two-run shot in the third inning.
But Miller found his groove, even as he gave up seven hits in six innings. He finished with nine strikeouts and no walks in his second start since returning from Triple-A when Tyler Glasnow went on the injured list with elbow soreness.
Hernandez covered the two early Rays home runs with one swing in the fifth inning. After Edman led off the inning with a single and Lux worked a one-out walk, Hernandez took Rays starter Tyler Alexander deep to left-center field for his eighth home run of the season.
Right-hander Ryan Brasier followed Miller with a scoreless seventh inning and now has three scoreless outings in his return from the injured list. Evan Phillips gave up a Brandon Lowe double in a scoreless eighth.
Right-hander Michael Kopech (4-8) picked up the win with a scoreless ninth inning.
More to come on this story.
Shohei Ohtani joins the 40-40 club with a walk-off GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/GCrFjaC1iG
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 24, 2024
Hit first career walk-off HR
Join the 40/40 club
Get a postgame shower pic.twitter.com/LXonGOXuxw— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2024
We are all witnesses to greatness. pic.twitter.com/BMUVDHBTSk
— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2024
