LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani homered twice and tied a 119-year-old major league record with four extra-base hits in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night, putting on yet another historic postseason show at Dodger Stadium.
After his four-hit barrage in the first seven innings, Ohtani drew five consecutive walks in this epic 18-inning World Series game, making him the first major leaguer in 83 years to reach base nine times in any game, let alone the postseason.
The Dodgers finally won 6-5 on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer leading off the 18th.
“What matters the most is we won,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “And what I accomplished today is in the context of this game, and what matters the most is we flip the page and play the next game.”
Freeman’s latest clutch homer cleared the fence just over 17 hours before Ohtani will make his first World Series start on the mound when he pitches for the Dodgers in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
“I want to go to sleep as soon as possible so I can get ready,” a smiling Ohtani said.
Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with a ground-rule double to right field. He followed with a solo homer to right in the third inning off Toronto starter Max Scherzer and added an RBI double in the fifth off reliever Mason Fluharty during a tying rally for Los Angeles.
Ohtani then hit a tying solo homer off Seranthony Domínguez with one out in the seventh. It was his sixth homer in the Dodgers’ last four games, and he tied Corey Seager’s eight homers in 2020 for the most by a Dodgers player in a single postseason.
The Blue Jays had seen enough of Ohtani by then: Manager John Schneider intentionally walked him in the ninth, 11th, 13th and 15th innings — and the gambit worked each time, with Ohtani’s teammates unable to get him home.
Ohtani is the first player to be intentionally walked four times in a postseason game, just one shy of the overall major league record for intentional passes set by Andre Dawson in May 1990.
With a man on first, the Blue Jays pitched to Ohtani in the 17th — but just barely, with Brendon Little throwing four pitches comfortably outside the zone.
Ohtani became the first player to reach base nine times since Stan Hack had five hits and four walks for the Cubs in an 18-inning game on Aug. 9, 1942, tying a record also achieved by Max Carey in 1922 and Johnny Burnett in 1932.
After becoming the first player in MLB history with three multihomer games in one postseason, Ohtani is two shy of Randy Arozarena’s record for homers in a postseason.
Only one other player in baseball history got four extra-base hits in a World Series game: Frank Isbell had four doubles for the Chicago White Sox in Game 5 in 1906 against the Chicago Cubs.
Ohtani also became the first hitter to have multiple games with at least 12 total bases in a single postseason. The only other player to have two such postseason games in his career was Babe Ruth.
Once again, Ohtani put on a spectacular show for the Los Angeles fans who definitely “need” him, posting his first four-hit game of the postseason in his first game back at Dodger Stadium since he hit three homers and struck out 10 Milwaukee Brewers in his sensational two-way effort during a clinching victory in the National League Championship Series 10 days ago.
Ohtani has six hits and five RBIs in the first three games of the World Series against Toronto, the city where fans chanted “We don’t need you!” at Ohtani while the Blue Jays won Game 1. Ohtani also homered late in that blowout loss.
Ohtani hit two homers in the Dodgers’ first game of the postseason against Cincinnati, but he hadn’t homered again until his historic performance in the NLCS. All three of those homers were solo shots, and he hit a pair of solo homers in Game 3.
He first connected for a 389-foot drive inside the right-field pole in the third inning.
After struggling Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen allowed the Blue Jays to go back ahead 5-4 in the seventh, Ohtani tied it with a 401-foot homer to left-center.
Ohtani now trails only Arozarena, who set the major league record with 10 postseason homers in 2020 before Tampa Bay lost the World Series to Seager and the Dodgers.
Ohtani doubled on Scherzer’s second pitch of Game 3, although his teammates couldn’t bring him home.
Ohtani keyed a tying rally when he doubled to left-center in the fifth, muscling an inside sweeper from Fluharty into the gap for his first opposite-field hit since Sept. 20, a span of 77 at-bats.
Following that double, Ohtani scored the tying run on Freddie Freeman’s single.
The Blue Jays pulled Scherzer right before Ohtani came up and replaced the veteran right-hander with Fluharty, who memorably struck out Ohtani with the bases loaded while escaping a big jam to secure a 5-4 win for Toronto at Dodger Stadium in August.
Ohtani quickly attempted to steal second after being walked in the ninth, but he was tagged out when he popped up and came off the base for an instant.
Ohtani advanced to second on Mookie Betts’ two-out single in the 11th, although he pulled up gingerly at the bag due to cramping. He stayed in the game, however, and Freeman flied out to end the inning.
With Tommy Edman on third base in the 13th, the Jays intentionally walked both Ohtani and Betts to load the bases with two outs. Freeman, who ended Game 1 of last year’s World Series with a grand slam, hit a 379-foot flyout to the warning track in center.
Ohtani’s 17th-inning walk put two Dodgers on base with two outs, but Betts popped out to go 1 for 8.
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