LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani entered the 40-40 club in grand fashion Friday night, hitting a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to reach 40 home runs for the season and lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ohtani stole his 40th base earlier in the game, reaching on an infield single leading off the fourth inning, then stealing second during Freddie Freeman's at-bat.
After his home run, the Japanese superstar came out of the dugout to wave at 45,556 fans who gave him a standing ovation. His teammates showered Ohtani with water on the field.
Shohei Ohtani reached 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in 126 games, making him the fastest player in MLB history to join the 40-40 club.
Ohtani is the fastest player in major league history to reach the vaunted 40-40 mark, doing so in his 126th game of the season. Alfonso Soriano held the previous mark, reaching 40-40 in 146 games for the Washington Nationals in 2006.
Ohtani is the sixth major leaguer to reach the milestone, and the first Dodger.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Ohtani is on pace to the be the first player with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season in MLB history. No player has had 45 homers and 45 steals in a season.
Friday's homer was the first walk-off homer of Ohtani's career and his third career grand slam.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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