Shohei Ohtani steals 3 bases in Dodgers' 11–6 win over Diamondbacks, moving closer to 50-50 season

Shohei Ohtani is moving closer to a historic 50-50 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar stole three bases in Monday's 11–6 win with the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving him 46 for the season. He hit his 44th home run of the year on Saturday, as the Dodgers beat Arizona, 8–6.

Ohtani stole his first base of the game in the fourth inning Monday after reaching base on a walk from Eduardo Rodriguez. He got the other two steals after a single off converted reliever Jordan Montgomery in the seventh. He swiped second, then took third two pitches later.

All three stolen bases came against Adrian Del Castillo, a reserve catcher in the lineup because regular starter Gabriel Moreno is on the injured list. Throwing out baserunners is not a specialty for the rookie, who has caught only one of 22 basestealers this season. (Teoscar Hernández also stole second in the seventh after Slade Cecconi replaced Montgomery.)

Previously, the most bases Ohtani had stolen in a season was 26 in 2021, when he won his first American League MVP award. However, he was also caught stealing 10 times, tied for most in MLB that year.

Ohtani has made an effort to run more this season, likely motivated by his move to the leadoff spot when Mookie Betts was injured. It's also likely that he can also concentrate more on base stealing without having to concern himself with pitching this season, as he recovers from elbow surgery.

New rules such as the pitch clock, larger bases and fewer pickoff throws, with only two disengagements from the pitching rubber allowed during a plate appearance, have also surely helped.

The Dodgers have 24 games remaining on their schedule, providing Ohtani with ample opportunity to hit six home runs and steal four more bases for a season that no other major leaguer has achieved.

Dodgers win 3 of 4 to increase NL West lead

Ohtani finished 2-for-4, giving him a .293 average and .995 OPS to go with his 44 homers and 46 stolen bases.

His performance was part of a huge day for the Dodgers' lineup. Betts also batted 2-for-4 with three RBI. Freddie Freeman hit 2-for-3 with two home runs and five RBI. And Hernández went 5-for-5 at the plate. Altogether, Los Angeles compiled 17 hits in the victory.

With Sunday's win, the Dodgers (81–55) took three of four games from the Diamondbacks (77–61) to boost their first-place margin from four games to six. With no more head-to-head matchups, Arizona might have blown its best chance to close the gap with the Dodgers and possibly overtake them in the NL West.

Additionally, the San Diego Padres have moved ahead of the D-backs in the division standings by a game after Monday's 3-0 victory against the visiting Detroit Tigers. Arizona may now have to console itself with a wild-card playoff spot.