Another milestone is within Shohei Ohtani’s reach.
Ohtani’s next home run will be his 300th in the major leagues.
No. 299 came in a wild 11-inning, 8-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night — the Dodgers’ first extra-inning game of the season.
The game had everything.
A middle-inning offensive outburst by the Dodgers.
A ninth-inning meltdown by Tanner Scott in which the substitute closer blew a three-run lead.
A 10th-inning run for the Rockies on a close play at home that resulted in catcher Dalton Rushing jawing at Cole Carrigg and the benches of both sides clearing.
An 11th-inning walk-off single by Rushing.
Ohtani’s home run reversed an early deficit to Rockies, his opposite-field shot sending the Dodgers in front, 2-1.
Ohtani’s two-run single capped a four-run fourth inning in which the Dodgers opened up their advantage to 6-1. That inning started with a single by Kyle Tucker, who advanced to third base on a hit by Teoscar Hernández. A single by Max Muncy drove in Tucker, and Hernández scored on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Rojas.
A double by Rushing brought up Ohtani with runners on second and third base, and the $700-million man singled up the middle to drive both of them in.
The performance extended Ohtani’s torture of Rockies starter Kyle Freeland, against whom Ohtani is now 9 for 16 with three home runs and nine runs batted in.
Ohtani didn’t homer in any of his five previous games but a meeting with Freeland broke him out of his mini-slump.
His home run on Monday night was his 19th of the season and the 128th in his three seasons with the Dodgers.
He is Japan’s major-league home run leader by a wide margin, as the next player on the list is Hideki Matsui, who hit 175 from 2003-2012.
What it means
The “Fre-ddie” chants at Dodger Stadium sounded a louder than usual, perhaps because bobbleheads made in Freddie Freeman’s image were distributed to fans. Freeman singled to right field in his first at-bat.
The Dodgers became the first team in baseball to reach the 60-win benchmark, and they maintained a 14-game lead in the National League West. Their division lead is the largest in the majors.
Who’s hot
Two months ago, when the Dodgers traded for Eric Lauer, they didn’t have to send the Toronto Blue Jays any players in return. Lauer was acquired for cash considerations.
The money was well-spent.
In eight games with the Dodgers, Lauer has a 3.12 earned-run average – solid numbers for a 31-year-old journeyman who was viewed as a placeholder until Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow returned from their respective injuries.
Lauer limited the Rockies to three runs and six hits over six innings.
Who’s not
Following a disastrous first season with the Dodgers, reliever Tanner Scott is in the middle of a solid year.
In 39 games this season, he’s posted a 2.70 ERA. He has also saved 12 games in the absence of closer Edwin Diaz, who is recovering from a procedure to remove bone chips from his arm.
Scott had a rare slip-up on Monday night, blowing a three-run lead he inherited in the ninth inning. With two outs, the bases loaded, and the lead down to two runs, Scott gave up a double to Carrigg that was initially ruled to have driven in three runs. The third run was nullified by a replay review, which showed that Hunter Goodman was thrown out at the plate by Miguel Rojas.
Up next
The Dodgers will continue their series against the Rockies on Tuesday, with Justin Wrobleski (10-2, 2.80 ERA) starting for the Dodgers and Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.91 ERA) for the Rockies.
