Home>baseballNews> Shohei Ohtani hits 55 home runs, setting a new Dodgers franchise record; may pitch only in the third game of the Wild Card series >

Shohei Ohtani hits 55 home runs, setting a new Dodgers franchise record; may pitch only in the third game of the Wild Card series

In the last game of this regular season, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani launched his 55th home run of the season, aiding his team in a 6-1 away win over the Seattle Mariners, and breaking his own Dodgers record for most home runs in a single season set just last year.

Moving forward, Ohtani will appear as a two-way player for the first time in the Major League postseason. Yet, whether he will pitch in the first round of the Wild Card series is still uncertain. After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the starting pitching rotation for the Wild Card series: Blake Snell will start the first game, Yusei Yamamoto the second, and if a third game is necessary, Ohtani may take the mound as the starting pitcher.

The Dodgers’ opponent in the Wild Card series was also confirmed today; they will face the National League’s third Wild Card team, the Cincinnati Reds. The series will be a best-of-three format, with all games played at the Dodgers’ home stadium.

In the final regular-season game, Shohei Ohtani went 3-for-5 at the plate: he hit a double in the first inning, a single in the third, and blasted his 55th home run of the season in the seventh inning, setting a new personal and Dodgers franchise single-season home run record. After the game, he said that hitting so many home runs increases the team’s chances of winning, and he’s happy to have set a new personal best, but now he needs to shift his mindset and focus fully on preparing for the playoffs.

In the top of the ninth inning, Ohtani struck out, missing out on completing his second career cycle. However, he said he wasn’t specifically chasing that achievement; his main goal is to be ready for the postseason. From that perspective, going 3-for-5 and entering the playoffs with his best form is the ideal state.

Notably, Clayton Kershaw pitched his final regular-season start today. He threw 5.1 innings, striking out seven batters while allowing only four hits and no runs. His last pitch of the regular season was a slider that struck out the first batter he faced in the bottom of the sixth inning, Eugenio Suárez.

Speaking about Kershaw’s performance, Ohtani said it was hard to tell he was about to retire: “He pitched so well that you’d think he could keep going. This was a game where you could really feel his strength.”

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