Shohei Ohtani put together another big performance but it wasn’t enough for the Los Angeles Dodgers as their comeback effort fell short in a 6-4 loss to the Washington Nationals.
Ohtani went 3-for-4 with two RBI, one walk and one strikeout. He finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle, which Ohtani has done once in his career.
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There was a golden opportunity for Ohtani to join a rare group in Dodgers history, as he stepped into the batter’s box as the tying run in the ninth inning. He worked a walk to keep the inning alive, but Mookie Betts grounded out to end the game.
Following the Dodgers’ loss, Ohtani explained nearly hitting for the cycle didn’t prompt any adjustments with his approach, but there was some feeling of regret over not swinging more aggressively against Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“My approach really doesn’t change. It’s just to try to get on base. That fourth at-bat, I should’ve at least taken a hack and seen what happened. But overall, my approach doesn’t really change.”
Ohtani’s big night began with a leadoff single in the first inning and he tied the game with a two-run homer in the third. Ohtani then achieved arguably the most challenging feat of a cycle by hitting a triple in the fifth inning.
He struck out in the eighth and drew the aforementioned in the ninth inning.
Even with falling shy of the cycle and the loss aside, it was an encouraging night for Ohtani on a personal level after he went 1-for-11 with five strikeouts during the series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Shohei Ohtani cycle history
Ohtani became the first Japanese-born player to hit for a cycle in MLB history when he did so for the Los Angeles Angels on June 3, 2019. Ohtani became the eighth Angels player to hit for the cycle and the first since Mike Trout did so on May 21, 2013.
Ohtani hit a home run in his first at-bat that night, doubled in the third inning, hit a triple in the fifth and secured his cycle with a single in the seventh.
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