Baseball-Ohtani one home run away from MLB’s first 50-50 season

By Rory Carroll

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Shohei Ohtani hit his 49th home run of the season and snatched two more stolen bases in Miami on Thursday, leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers’ slugger one home run away from being the first player in MLB history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a single season.

Ohtani smoked a double to lead off the game and then stole third for his 50th stolen base of the season, sliding under the tag from Marlins third baseman Connor Norby.

The Japanese sensation came around to score on a sacrifice fly to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. The base was removed from the field for safe keeping before the start of the bottom of the first inning.

In his next at-bat he hit an RBI single to right field to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead and stole second on a play where the speedy Ohtani got such a good jump that Marlins catcher Nick Fortes did not even attempt to throw him out.

It was the 52nd stolen base of the season, whose previous high for stolen bases in a season was 26.

Ohtani stepped to the plate for his fourth at-bat at the top of the sixth and obliterated a pitch into the second deck of LoanDepot Park.

Ohtani’s blast tied Shawn Green for the most homers ever hit by a Dodgers player in a single season. Green hit 49 homers in 2001.

The 30-year-old Ohtani is playing in his seventh season and has more than delivered for the Dodgers since being acquired in the off-season on a record 10-year, $700-million contract.

The two-way threat is not pitching this season as he recovers from off-season elbow surgery but his feats at the plate and on the base paths have him poised to win his third MVP award.

The NL West-leading Dodgers were up 9-3 over the lowly Marlins at the top of the seventh inning.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles)