WASHINGTON (AP) — Shohei Ohtani got going again at the plate Monday night, falling just a double short of hitting for the cycle.
The three-time MVP homered, tripled, singled and walked, finishing 3 for 4 with two RBIs in the It was a nice bounce-back for Ohtani after he went 1 for 11 in a weekend series at Philadelphia.
With the Dodgers down two runs and Max Muncy on third base with two outs in the ninth inning, Ohtani walked on a full-count splitter from Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan.
“He had some really good takes there,” Finnegan said. “He knows the situation, too. He knows I’m not going to give him anything too good to hit. He’s a pro. He worked his at-bat and I was able to sneak back in there 3-2. If I was going to get him out, it was because he was going to chase something out of the zone and he did his job and took ball four.”
Mookie Betts then grounded out to end the game.
Ohtani, however, focused more on the called third strike he took with a runner aboard in the eighth.
“My approach doesn’t really change — it’s to really get on base,” he said through a translator. “That fourth at-bat I really should have just taken a hack and see what happens.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thought Ohtani was unselfish in his final plate appearance when he drew a walk with the game on the line.
“It’s kind of hard to say he was struggling, but tonight he was locked in,” Roberts said. “Even that last at-bat to earn the walk versus Finnegan and not try to chase a cycle speaks to being a team player and passing the baton. He had an excellent night.”
On the pitching side, Ohtani is throwing bullpens and getting closer to live batting practice as the two-way superstar rehabs from elbow surgery.
“I feel pretty good with where I am at physically,” he said. “There’s some limitation on how hard I am supposed to throw or how many types of pitches I’m allowed to throw. Once that’s cleared, I will be able to do all of the above. I feel pretty good about throwing live BP.”
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