LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani is baseball’s fastest 40-40 man.
The Japanese superstar blasted a two-out grand slam in the ninth inning for his 40th homer after earlier stealing his 40th base, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Ohtani achieved the feat in just 129 games, the quickest in major league history and sixth ever to reach 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a season. He’s also the first Dodgers player to do so.
“It’s really more about the winning,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “Obviously the record is part of the process but I think the most important thing is about winning the game.”
He broke the previous mark by Alfonso Soriano in Game 148 for the Washington Nationals in 2006.
“It’s just storybook — 40-40 on the same night,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know if that’s ever been done and then he wins it with a grand slam. He’s definitely known for the dramatics and this was something I’ll remember for a long time.”
Ohtani’s 389-foot shot snapped a 3-3 tie. Rays center fielder Jose Siri gave chase and the ball bounced back onto the field. He then threw it into the stands, so Ohtani didn’t end up with the keepsake, according to Ohtani’s interpreter Will Ireton.
Ohtani took a curtain call as the crowd of 45,556 stood and cheered.
“It means a tremendous amount for me to be able to do this in front of the home crowd,” he said.
In the fourth, Ohtani reached on an infield single leading off against Tyler Alexander and stole second during Freddie Freeman’s at-bat.
