
It looks like Shohei Ohtani is on some kind of heater right now. Ohtani hit his 53rd home run this season on Saturday night, tying Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber for the most homers in the National League this season.
Ohtani and Michael Conforto, who went 3-for-4 with a homer himself, provided the offense as Los Angeles defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-5 at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani has not only been producing at the plate, but he's been making his presence felt on the mound, too. And this guy would be OK playing in the outfield for the Dodgers in the postseason, too? Is there anything that Shohei cannot do?
While Ohtani takes the spotlight in his own way, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts continues to be amazed at how his superstar shows up night after night.
"With what he's done with the bat and now what he's done on the mound," Roberts said a few days ago, according to Dodgers reporter Sonja Chen for MLB.com.
When it comes to the National League Most Valuable Player voting this season, Roberts simply said "it's a landslide. It's a no-brainer. The only thing is, I hope some of those voters don't get voter fatigue just because it's the easiest option. It’s the right option."
Los Angeles was down 4-0 at one point in the game, but the Dodgers found a way to rally back.
Here are some more records that Ohtani has set this season: Ohtani's 29 homers at Dodger Stadium this year are the most in a single season in the ballpark's history. Who had the previous record at 28? Ohtani did last season. Ohtani also added to his L.A.-era Dodgers record with his 141st run scored.
The Dodgers get some bad news about catcher Will Smith, who suffered a hairline fracture. The team thought it might just be a bone bruise, but imaging done on it showed the fracture there.
Roberts said that it's not likely that Smith will play in the 2025 MLB season's final week. He added that Smith's status for the start of the NL postseason run is "up in the air."