Interleague Dodgers 4-2 Twins (April 8, 2024 Minneapolis)
Dodgers manager Roberts responds to an interview before the game (Photographer: Naoyuki Yanagihara)
Photo By Sponichi
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (29) started the game against the Twins on enemy territory on the 8th (9th Japan time) as the “No. 2 DH”. He contributed to the team’s 4-2 victory with his first three hits in one game this season, including hitting No. 3 in his fourth at-bat, his first hit in three games. This is the first time he has hit three home runs in the last five games. He hit a total of 174 home runs in the majors, one shy of Hideki Matsui’s 175 home runs, the most by a Japanese player. His batting average increased to .345 and OPS to 1.056.
Otani’s bat doesn’t stop. In this inning, James Outman’s go-ahead solo shot led to a 1-run lead in the 7th inning with two outs and no runners on. With the count 2-1, he swung the fourth pitch, an 86 mph slider from former Hiroshima right-hander Randy Jackson, and the ball bounced off the front row of the left field seats. His batting speed was 106.9 mph (approximately 172.0 km/h), the flight distance was 376 feet (approximately 114.6 m), and the angle of the ball was 38 degrees. On his first pitch, he hit his right foot with a self-hit ball and yelled, “Aye!” in pain, but after slowly circling the diamond, he smiled and exchanged high-fives with Nine on the bench.
His match with Jackson during his Japan days was in the 2016 league game and Japan Series, in which he had 1 hit and 1 walk in 4 at-bats in a total of 5 at-bats. In the league game, he had a strikeout on the left, and in the Japan Series, he had a walk, a free grounder, and a strikeout.
After the game against the Giants on the 2nd (3rd Japan time), his batting average had dropped to .242. However, he hit his first hit of the season the next day, and in the last five games including that day, he has had multiple hits in all of his last five games, with a batting average of .500, with 11 hits in 22 at bats. Manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani, who has improved his batting average to .345 this season in five games, saying, “Shohei continues to swing the bat well. He can hit to the center of the field, and he can also hit to the opposite side like he did today. . It will be difficult to hold him back. There will be other players who will use their secret weapon, the cricket bat.” Regarding the fact that other players, including James Outman, who hit the winning solo, also used cricket bats, the coach said, “If it works for Shohei, then it will work for everyone.”
Before today’s game, Ohtani explained that he practiced batting with a cricket bat in an indoor cage during the rainy suspension of the game against the Cubs on the 7th. “Cricket bats have a flat surface, so it’s better to use the flat surface to catch the ball.Rather, it was a fast swing that involves swinging your body back, so it seems like it would be good as part of your practice when you hold it. That’s why I did it,” he said.
Roberts also said, “When he swings his bat and catches it in the barrel, I expect it to be a hard hit. It’s something I’ve never seen before. As I said before, he’s going to hit the strike zone. When it comes to controlling the ball and hitting in the nitro zone (near below the belt), there is no hitter better than him. I’m happy to see him (hitting well),” he said with satisfaction.
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2024-04-09 16:10:27
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