Shohei Ohtani homers to lead off NLCS Game 4 for Dodgers against Mets
Sports
Japanese star sounded like some good-natured ribbing
NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani made his point.
After Ohtani helped cap the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Game 3 win in the NL Championship Series with a three-run, eighth-inning homer, teammate Freddie Freeman gave the Japanese star what sounded like some good-natured ribbing.
“Freddie talked to me to make sure that I joined the party earlier than later,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
So after Ohtani drove Jose Quintana’s second pitch into the New York Mets bullpen in right-center field in Game 4, Ohtani aimed a finger at the Los Angeles dugout as he left the batter’s box.
“I was able to do that this time in my first at-bat,” he said Thursday night after a 10-2 victory gave the Dodgers a 3-1 series lead and moved then one win from a World Series trip.
Ohtani took Quintana’s first pitch for a ball, then drove a sinker over the middle of the plate 422 feet for his third postseason homer. The likely NL MVP began the night 0 for 22 in the postseason when batting with nobody on base and 7 for 9 with two homers and eight RBIs when hitting with runners aboard.
