Shohei Ohtani moved closer to achieving a historic 50-50 season with his 47th stolen base of the year on Monday night, despite the Los Angeles Dodgers suffering a 10-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Ohtani, who hit his 46th home run of the season on Sunday, is now only three stolen bases and four home runs away from becoming the first MLB player to reach 50 in each category in a single season. His latest stolen base brings him just five away from surpassing his previous best of 26 steals, achieved in 2021.
Since being sidelined as a pitcher until 2025, Ohtani has continued to make headlines with his exceptional performance. In August, he joined the exclusive 40-40 club, alongside notable players such as Alfonso Soriano, Jose Canseco, Ronald Acuña Jr., Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez, who recorded 43-43 in 1998.
However, Monday night’s game featured more than just Ohtani’s pursuit of history. The Cubs’ former Dodgers, Cody Bellinger and Michael Busch, played pivotal roles in securing the victory.
The Cubs took an early lead with Bellinger hitting a two-run homer off the first pitch of the game, followed by Busch’s RBI single that put the Cubs ahead by three runs.
Dodgers pitcher Kyle Hendricks, wary of Ohtani’s home run potential, walked the Japanese star in the third inning. Ohtani capitalized on the opportunity, easily stealing second base. Busch then helped Hendricks by catching a line drive to first base, ending the inning with the bases loaded. Busch extended the Cubs’ lead with a solo home run in the fourth inning.
The Dodgers managed to narrow the deficit in the fifth inning, but the Cubs responded in the sixth with Busch’s RBI single bringing in Bellinger, and Miguel Amaya adding two more runs with a timely hit. Bellinger rounded off his impressive return to Los Angeles with an RBI single in the ninth and a diving catch in the bottom of the inning.
With 18 games left in the regular season, Ohtani has a few more opportunities to reach the 50-50 milestone. The Dodgers will face the Cubs again on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, where Ohtani will continue his pursuit of this historic achievement.
