Shohei Ohtani's history vs Mets: All you need to know ahead of Dodgers' blockbuster NLCS 2024 face-off
Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers are through to the National League Championship Series after defeating the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the NLDS at home on Friday. They move on to face the New York Mets in the NLCS for a spot in the World Series.
In five games against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani went 4-for-19 at the plate with four RBIs, three of which came through a game-tying three-run homer in the first game. He went hitless in the final game but a strong pitching performance from starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the bullpen saved the day for LA.
While Ohtani would be looking to put the rough start behind him, his statistics against the Mets would make any Dodger fan optimistic. In ten games throughout his career, the two-way star has a .361 average at the plate going 13-for-36 with 10 RBIs and three home runs.
The first five of these games came while Ohtani was with the Los Angeles Angels. His best outing came in June 2022 when he went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and one walk.
Shohei faced the Mets five times this season after his record-breaking $700 million deal with the Dodgers. In the home series in April, "The Sho" recorded three consecutive games gaining a hit with eight total bases that included a homer in the series finale. In the return fixture at Citi Field, Ohtani hit 2-for-5 in Game 2.
New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers regular season record
While the New York Mets won the first two games at Dodger Stadium in April in strong fashion, they suffered four straight losses against Los Angeles including a series sweep at home at Citi Field. In many ways that also turned out to be a defining moment for New York's season as they were 22-33 with a .400 PCT at that point.
The loss at home in the final week of May prompted the senior leadership – including players like Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo – to call for a team meeting in the clubhouse. Since then, they were able to turn things around and finished with an 89-73 record.
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