Baseball

Shohei Ohtani Plays a Starring Role in Dodgers' Game 4 Rout of Mets

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani smacked a leadoff homer in the first inning and scored four runs. Los Angeles took a commanding 3-1 lead in the NLCS.

by
Ed Odeven
October 18, 2024

Shohei Ohtani scored four runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 10-2 demolition of the New York Mets on Thursday, October 17.

Ohtani whacked a leadoff home run in the first inning and the Dodgers cruised to victory in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Citi Field.

With the win, the Dodgers took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 of the NLCS is on Friday in the Big Apple.

In the first inning, Ohtani clubbed an 0-1 sinker from Colombian left-hander Jose Quintana and hit it 422 feet (128.6 meters) into the right-center field stands.

The Mets tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the first on a Mark Vientos solo homer off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Los Angeles scored a pair of runs in the third to take the lead for good. Ohtani's team tacked on two more runs in both the fourth and the sixth and three more in the eighth.

Shohei Ohtani Ignites the Dodgers

Asked by a reporter if Ohtani's homer was the tone-setting moment of the entire game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza responded by saying, "Yeah, you could say that. But the solo shot wasn't going to beat us."

Added Mendoza, "Yeah, it was pretty impressive, but not only Ohtani, you have to take care of the other guys behind him. But, yeah, when he goes out there first at-bat of the game and hits it like that, obviously it's a good feeling for them. We knew that wasn't going to beat us, but we couldn't just stop it."

Dodgers energizer Mookie Betts, batting second behind Ohtani, went 4-for-6 with three runs and four RBIs. Tommy Edman also finished with three RBIs.

"It's been fun being able to see him perform really well, obviously being in the situation where I'm on base," Ohtani said of Betts in the postgame news conference. "So he looks really good and locked in. My job at that point is to make sure that I score on anything that Mookie really hits."

*Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches against the Mets in the first inning. (Frank Franklin II/AP)*

Yamamoto, making his third start of the postseason, pitched 4⅓ innings of two-run ball. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out eight in a no-decision. Evan Phillips, the first of three Dodgers relievers, picked up the win, pitching 1⅓ scoreless innings.

Three Straight Walks for Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani was issued a free pass in the third inning, with Quintana tossing three straight sinkers before a changeup was called ball four. Moments later, he scored on Edman's double to left to make it 2-1.

In the fourth, Ohtani had a full count against Quintana and was issued another base on balls ― again it was a changeup.

Quintana exited the game after allowing five hits and five runs in 3⅓ innings.

After the pitching change, Jose Butto gave up a double to Betts and Ohtani raced around the bases, scoring from first on the timely hit after teammate Chris Taylor crossed home plate. That made it 5-2.

With one out in the sixth, Ohtani reached base via a walk for the third straight time in Game 4. Four straight pitches, four straight balls from Butto.

What happened next?

Betts ripped a homer to left off Butto, extending LA's lead to 7-2.

Enthusiasm During the NLCS

Noting the 13-hour time difference between New York and Japan, Ohtani expressed appreciation for the fans' support in his homeland.

"I'm sure it's not easy for the people in Japan to be able to watch these games because of the time difference," Ohtahi said. "But Yoshinobu pitched really well. We've been playing really well. And I hope to continue to perform well as well for the fans in Japan."

Looking ahead to Game 5, Ohtani clearly stated what his objective is.

"I'm really just focused on playing a really good game tomorrow," the Iwate Prefecture native told reporters. "Even though we're in an away situation, I just want to really focus on winning the game tomorrow and playing a really good game as a team."

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.