Los Angeles Dodgers hitter Shohei Ohtani cost his team a run in the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
Rookie Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. doubled and advanced to second. With two outs, Ohtani hit a line-drive single up the middle. Alfonzo rounded third and headed home while Ohtani aggressively tried to stretch the hit into a double.
The tag on Ohtani was made on second base, but he was ruled safe while Alfonzo Jr. scored the game-tying run. However, the Phillies challenged the call on Ohtani, and it was overturned. Since the tag on Ohtani was made before Alfonzo Jr. reached home plate, the run was taken away from the Dodgers, and they remained behind 1-0.
Ohtani became the subject of jokes among fans as some alleged that the Japanese star had been selfish in his pursuit of a double.
“Ohtani could of just settle for a single, but no. His ego is out of this world,” one fan wrote.
“Low baseball IQ play by Ohtani there. Greedy and trying to pad his stats,” another fan remarked.
Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers Survive Phillies Comeback
The lost run in the third inning didn’t ultimately haunt the Dodgers as they secured a narrow 2-1 win, but on any other day they might have regretted it.
The Phillies went silent after grabbing an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Alec Bohm drove in Bryce Harper with an RBI single. In response, Max Muncy hit a go-ahead two-run home run for the Dodgers to take the lead.
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler struck out nine over seven innings but was tagged with the loss since the offense couldn’t manufacture another run. Meanwhile, Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski improved to 11-2, allowing one run on five hits over 6.1 innings while striking out seven.
The Phillies had a chance to make a comeback in the ninth inning with runners on second and third and one out against Dodgers closer Tanner Scott. However, a baserunning miscue involving J.T. Realmuto led to a game-ending double play as the Dodgers escaped with a save.
The ongoing three-game series at Citizens Bank Park heads to a decider on Wednesday. The Dodgers will hand the ball to Eric Lauer, who is 4-5 with a 4.81 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 47 strikeouts and 27 walks.
Meanwhile, the home side will have Aaron Nola on the mound. The Phillies ace has struggled with a 3-7 record, 5.68 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 108 Ks and 35 walks.
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