Shohei Ohtani became the first player of the season to break 20 Roberts: Extraordinary human builder

In Game 3 of the series between the Dodgers and the Guardians, Shohei Ohtani couldn't extend his two-day opening run — a strikeout against Tanner Bibee in the first game. But this is only the last time Bibi has made the second-class superstar look ordinary.

After a deliberate win in the second inning, Ohtani pushed Bibi's outside corner cut to the left field home run wall in the fourth inning, and a 362-foot (about 110 meters) shot in the opposite direction gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead and a 9-5 victory. With this hit, Ohtani became the first player in the major leagues to reach 20 hits this season, and tied for the top three in Dodgers history with 20 hits in the first 55 games of the season, ahead of Gil Hodges (21 hits) in 1951 and Cody Bellinger (20 hits) in 2019.

"He's got a lot more room for error than the average person," laughs Dave Roberts, Dodgers head coach. The atypical home run couldn't even score on the Dodgers' home court: Ohtani bit Bibi's outside corner and sent the ball to the left field home run patio at Progress Field with a muzzle velocity of 103.6mph. Neither party expected the outcome: Ohtani sprinted with all his might after hitting the ball, and did not slow down until the ball crossed the wall; Bibi was dumbfounded as he watched the flight trajectory and muttered "My God" as the ball crossed the fence.

"Most people think it's a normal flyball," Bibi admits, "and in our court, it's rare for a left-handed hitter to shoot back." Roberts described the shot as a "helium balloon home run": "He didn't hit the center of the ball solidly. "

It was Ohtani's second run this season (May 14-16) and the tenth time in his career that he had three consecutive bouts. He also tied Bellinger (June 2017) and Adrian Beltré (August 2004) with 13 May to tie third in team history for a single month, just two short of the 15-shot record held by Pedro Guerrero (June 1985) and Duke Snider (August 1953).

"His discipline in the good ball zone has improved dramatically," Roberts noted. The data supports the metamorphosis: Ohtani's May long-term shooting rate was 0.776, a surge of 231 points from his career average of 0.545 in May. "It's something that no mortal can do," admits teammate Max Muncy, "and it's enviable." "

As for the pitcher, Dustin May, who replaced Otani in the vacant rotation, lost 3 points in 5 innings and sent a season-high 9K, accumulating 25K in 16 innings in the last three games. "The swing rate was great, I just missed a speedball," May said of the three-point shot that was blasted by Daniel Schneemann in the fourth inning, "and it has to be reduced." After this game, Mei was just 0.1 years shy of her career's most innings pitched in a single season (56 innings).

The bottom of the line also contributed firepower: Michael Conforto ended a home run run on April 5 and Mancy had his third run of May. "These signs of outburst are exactly the depth of squad that we were looking for at the start of the season," Roberts commented, "and now we're living up to our potential. "

As the striking-end continues to go viral, Ohtani's pitching comeback plan is also advancing. When asked if he regretted not being able to open the bracket for three consecutive days, the Japanese superstar replied with a shot that would rewrite history – at a time when he was redefining the limits of baseball in a non-human way.