Shohei Ohtani’s first year as a Los Angeles Dodger continues to get better. The Japanese superstar added to his clutch plate appearances in the NLCS Game 1 against the New York Mets on Sunday.
Although Ohtani had a relatively quiet division series against the San Diego Padres, a remarkable stat highlighted the two-time MVPs important contribution in the postseason.
While the Japanese slugger has struggled from the leadoff spot, going 0-15 with eight strikeouts when the bases are empty, Ohtani is 6-8 with runners on base, registering 6 RBIs with a home run.
Fans reacted to the clutch performance of their $700 million acquisition in the offseason.
“Clears that fraud from New York,” a fan wrote mocking Yankees captain Aaron Judge.
“Witnessing greatness with this man night in and night out,” applauded another fan.
“Literally the anti Judge. Mr. High Leverage,” wrote another fan.
“He’s the opposite of Judge in the postseason,” said a fan.
Several fans urged the Dodgers to move Shohei Ohtani out of the leadoff spot.
“Might wanna take him out the lead off spot,” opined a fan.
“I’ve been saying we need Mookie leading off, bottom of the order has been putting in work too tho.”
Dodgers pitchers steal the limelight from Shohei Ohtani-led offense
While Shohei Ohtani added to his remarkable postseason stat on Sunday with an RBI double, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman also had a productive night as the Dodgers scored nine runs in the NLCS opener.
However, it’s the Dodgers’ pitching that hogged the limelight, rightly so, for shutting out a dangerous Mets offense at Dodger Stadium. Starter Jack Flaherty pitched seven scoreless innings before the bullpen took over to complete the job, tying the postseason record for 33 consecutive shutout innings, set by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who opened the scoring in Game 1 after a two-run single in the first inning, heaped praise on the rotation after a 9-0 win.
“They’re sparking us right now,’’ Muncy said. “They’re showing the fire for us, and we all want to get behind them. We all want to give them the lead and let them go out there and do what they want to do.’’
The Mets have a lot to do if they want to bounce back in Game 2, especially with the Dodgers rotation at the top of their game.
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