Ohtani secures 6th straight 30-HR season to keep pace with PCA in tight NL MVP race
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DENVER – Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is setting a wicked pace, but Shohei Ohtani is hot on his tail in the race for NL MVP.
Ohtani launched a Statcast-projected 448-foot two-run home run in the third inning of the Dodgers’ 7-6 win over the Rockies on Tuesday night at Coors Field, giving him 30 home runs. It marks the sixth straight time Ohtani has reached the 30-homer plateau.
But keeping pace with Crow-Armstrong isn’t easy. In the Cubs’ 7-5 victory over the White Sox on Monday, Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning. Earlier, he blasted the first pitch of the game for a homer.
Then, on Tuesday, Crow-Armstrong became just the 13th player (since at least 1900) with a leadoff homer in the next game after hitting a walk-off shot, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Crow-Armstrong now has 31 home runs and has put together back-to-back seasons with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is impressed by Crow-Armstrong. And, naturally, by Ohtani’s six straight 30s.
“You have to be available and you have to be a high performer,” Roberts said. “Shohei, this series, is back to being who he is. I like the at-bats, I like the swing decisions and he’s hitting balls out of the park on fastballs and breaking balls. When he goes, it certainly adds a lot of energy to our offense.”
Regarding the MVP race, Roberts said, “I think it’s great for baseball that Pete’s made it a race. I think he is earning the praise and I think he plays a fantastic center field. He’s put up tremendous numbers.
“And I honestly do think it’s going to make Shohei better, too, to have someone push him.”
The Dodgers, who came to Coors in a team-wide offensive slump, got key hits up and down the lineup in Tuesday’s victory, including an RBI double into the right-field corner by struggling Kyle Tucker in L.A.’s three-run third inning.
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The Dodgers own the best road record in baseball at 39-25 and absolutely own Colorado. Since the start of the 2023 season, the Dodgers are 40-11 against the Rockies, including 19-8 at Coors Field.
Lefty Tanner Scott, reinserted into the closer role when right-hander Edwin Díaz was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier on Tuesday, got a four-out save. However, he had to sweat it out after giving up a one-out double to Colorado speedster Jake McCarthy and a two-out single to Willi Castro to make it a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth.
“I just wait for the phone to ring, I don’t care when,” said Scott, who notched his 17th save of the season. “You get the adrenaline rush when your name is called and you just go out there and pitch.”
Scott came through in crunch time, but Ohtani remains a must-see attraction, especially at high-altitude Coors Field. His homer off Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner’s first-pitch, a hanging curveball, came on the heels of Ohtani’s two-homer game on Monday night in Los Angeles’ 11-5 win over Colorado.
Ohtani extended his hitting streak at Coors Field to 22 straight games, during which he’s hit .402/.463/.825 with a 1.288 OPS, 10 homers and 26 RBIs.
Ohtani has joined some elite Major League company. He’s hit 139 homers with the Dodgers, ranking fourth all-time for the most home runs hit by a player in his first three seasons with a team.
Mark McGwire, who hit 159 with St. Louis, tops the list. Next is Alex Rodriguez with Texas (156), followed by the Yankees’ Babe Ruth (148).