MIAMI -- The last time Shohei Ohtani played at loanDepot park, he was striking out Mike Trout and leading Team Japan to a World Baseball Classic title.
This time around, Ohtani got closer to history, smashing his 48th homer of the season, a two-run blast off Marlins starter Darren McCaughan in the third inning of the Dodgers' 11-9 loss in Tuesday night’s series opener.
Ohtani is now the first player to hit 48 homers and steal 48 bases in the same season, putting him two shy of each of starting the 50-50 club.
“No pressure,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “[I’m] just trying to maintain quality at-bats no matter the situation, something I’ve been trying to do over the course of the season.”
The homer landed in the second deck in right field at loanDepot park and traveled a projected 402 feet with a 105.3 mph exit velocity, according to Statcast. Ohtani is now tied with Adrian Beltré for the second-most homers in a single season in Dodgers history behind only Shawn Green, who hit 49 homers in 2001.
“I think he’s probably the best player I’ve ever seen play,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said before Tuesday’s game. “He can do it all. And he’s rehabbing, too. That’s what’s so crazy.
“… Hopefully, he doesn’t break any records here, but it’s just fun to watch him go about his business.”
Ohtani was quiet during the four-game series against Atlanta, not hitting a homer or stealing a base. It was the first four-game span in which he didn’t hit a homer or record a stolen base since June 6-9.
Over the last few games, Ohtani has been expanding the zone more than he has in previous games, which could be attributed to his chase of 50-50.
“I don’t think he’s feeling pressure. I do think that it’s front of mind,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And I do feel that’s somewhat natural. I think he just wants to get it over with, but with the fact that he’s still trying to compete and help us win baseball games.”
Ohtani added that his mechanics at the plate aren’t exactly where he would like them to be at the moment. The homer on Tuesday helped, but the superstar designated hitter is still looking for some more consistency. Being this close to making history hasn’t impacted him that much, he said.
“It’s something that’s obviously been cumulatively added to during the year. That really shows I’ve been contributing to the team,” Ohtani said. “That being said, the team is going through a little bit of a struggle so my focus is trying to contribute to the team regardless.”
As Ohtani mentioned, the Dodgers have struggled for weeks now and fell to 2-3 on the current seven-game road trip. A large part of those struggles are because of the inconsistencies and lack of production coming from their starting rotation.
Bobby Miller’s season struggles reached a new low against the Marlins, allowing four runs on seven hits over just two innings in Tuesday’s start. Over the last five games, the Dodgers’ starting rotation has averaged just 3 2/3 innings with only Walker Buehler pitching past the fifth inning.
Behind Miller, the bullpen, which has been used heavily over the last couple of weeks, struggled as well, allowing seven runs over the last six innings of the game.
“It’s definitely very frustrating,” Miller said. “I know I’m going to come out of this. I’m going to be working harder than I ever have to come out of this. There is no doubt in my mind, whenever that may be I’m going to be back better than I ever have.”
When Miller’s next start comes is now in question. Roberts said the team will “huddle up” to determine what’s next, but the right-hander being done for the season is definitely in play. That decision will come on Wednesday.
“Tonight, it just wasn’t great obviously,” Roberts said. “From the onset, there just wasn’t a lot of quality strikes. I think there were some pitch selection things that I don’t think were right. Running deep counts, falling behind. … Major League hitters, when you’re just working bad counts, it’s just not going to end well.”