Shohei Ohtani’s two home runs in Dodgers win over Reds highlights night of MLB Wild Card action
By George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — Shohei Ohtani made a fast start to the MLB postseason as he hit two home runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 10-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of their National League (NL) Wild Card Series.
Ohtani opened his account with a lead-off home run in Tuesday’s game, blasting Hunter Greene’s 100.4 mph fastball to right field in the bottom of the first inning.
It was the fastest pitch that the Japanese star has hit for a home run in his career, according to MLB.com, as well as the fourth-hardest hit postseason home run since Statcast began tracking in 2015 at 117.7 mph.
“It was a really hard pitch to hit, but I felt like I reacted pretty well and I’m glad that I was able to help the team score early,” Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters after the game.
The reigning NL MVP then followed it up in the sixth with a 454-foot, two-run homer to right-center field off reliever Connor Phillips, this one measuring at 113.5 mph. Per MLB, it was the longest postseason home run in Dodgers history.
Teoscar Hernández also hit two home runs on the night and Tommy Edman added a solo shot in the third for the Dodgers, who are looking to become the first back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees won three straight Commissioner’s Trophies from 1998 to 2000.
The 31-year-old Ohtani hit a career-high 55 home runs in the regular season and, if his exploits with the bat weren’t enough to get fans excited, could still pitch in the playoffs for the first time over the coming weeks.
Ohtani didn’t take the mound last year while recovering from elbow surgery and never made the playoffs while with the Los Angeles Angels. Speaking to reporters, however, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thought that the chances of Ohtani pitching against the Reds were slim.
“Never say never, but I don’t think so,” Roberts told reporters when asked about the possibility of Ohtani pitching in this series. “But then again, I guess anything’s possible.”
As for Ohtani, he said that he is “prepared to pitch in any situation.”
The Dodgers and the Reds return to Dodger Stadium for Game 2 of their Wild Card Series on Wednesday.
‘Incredible’ Skubal has historic game for Tigers
Elsewhere, Tarik Skubal was instrumental in the Detroit Tigers gaining an early advantage in their American League (AL) Wild Card Series against the Cleveland Guardians with a 2-1 road win.
Skubal, last season’s AL Cy Young Award winner, tied a postseason record for the Tigers with 14 strikeouts, the highest in his career. The last Detroit player to replicate such a feat was Joe Coleman back in 1972.
According to MLB.com, 11 of Skubal’s 107 pitches were at least 100 mph, and all of those were faster than he managed during last year’s postseason run when the Tigers beat the Houston Astros before losing to the Guardians in the AL Division Series.
Now, thanks to Skubal’s excellence on the mound, they are one win away from avenging that defeat.
“Tarik set an incredible tone for us,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch told reporters. “He’s been incredible for us all season, but what a performance at the biggest moments on the biggest stage to get us in a great position to win the game.
“We saw a little bit of everything out of him. He was efficient, he was dominant, he hit every pitch, he was up to 100 all the time. He didn’t let any big moment rattle him.”
In Wednesday’s other games, the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres 3-1, while the Boston Red Sox defeated bitter rivals the New York Yankees by the same scoreline.
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