Shohei Ohtani will aim to take another step toward history on Friday when the Los Angeles Dodgers play the opener of a four-game series against the host Atlanta Braves.
Ohtani belted one of his team’s four homers in the first inning and added a stolen base in the second in the Dodgers’ 10-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. The two-time American League MVP increased his home run and stolen base totals to 47 and 48, respectively, as he attempts to become the first player in major league history with at least 50 in each category in a season.
“We all definitely know what’s going on. It’s fun to watch,” Los Angeles catcher Will Smith said. “It’s fun to get a chance to see it every night. I think he’ll do it. I’m just trying to enjoy it as he tries to get there, but more importantly he’s trying to help us win ballgames.”
Tommy Edman continued his power surge by belting two homers for a second straight game on Wednesday.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever done that before in my life,” Edman said. “But I feel like I’ve kind of gotten locked into a pretty good routine in the cage, really working on mechanics and having consistent movements in my swing, and I think the results are paying off.”
Winners of just three of their past seven games, the National League West-leading Dodgers (87-59) hold a 5- and 5 1/2-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, respectively.
The Braves (79-67) fell for the fourth time in seven games with a 5-1 setback to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. Atlanta resides one game in back of the New York Mets for the final wild-card spot in the NL.
“We’ve just been having a hard time scoring runs,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You still have to score. You got to really, really pitch good, which we have, but the offense has got to be more consistent if you’re going to support the pitching.”
The Braves mustered just six total runs en route to being swept in a three-game series by the Dodgers from May 3-5 at Los Angeles.
Atlanta will turn to rookie Spencer Schwellenbach (5-7, 3.78 ERA) on Friday against Los Angeles’ Landon Knack (2-3, 3.00) in a match of right-handers.
Schwellenbach, 24, endured his worst outing of his young career on Saturday. He yielded a season high-tying six runs on 10 hits — including two homers — in five innings of a 9-5 setback to the Toronto Blue Jays.
“This is another new experience that (Schwellenbach) is going to learn from,” Snitker said. “He’s creating things to fall back on and learn from in the future. If he keeps throwing strikes, that’s a lot easier to live with.”
Knack, 27, pitched well in his last outing but still took home a loss. He permitted two runs on three hits in six innings and struck out a career-high eight batters in a 3-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians last Friday.
Both pitchers have yet to face the opposition in their respective careers.
–Field Level Media
