The Los Angeles Dodgers had a chance to break Game 5 of the National League Championship Series right open – with a victory ensuring them a spot in the World Series.
In the first inning, with Shohei Ohtani standing on third base and nobody out, the Dodgers had the chance to take an early lead over the New York Mets.
But on a ground ball hit to shortstop by Teoscar Hernandez, Ohtani didn’t make the dash for home like he probably should have.
A lineout by first baseman Freddy Freeman and a strikeout by shortstop Tommy Edman ended the inning with no runs on the board.
Speaking at the third inning with Fox’s Ken Rosenthal, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts painted a brutally honest picture of Ohtani’s decision making.
‘Yeah I don’t know, it was corners in right there, ball to the middle of the field. I think he just had a brain cramp and locked up right there,’ Roberts said.
‘They kinda built momentum and hopefully we can weather that.’
The Mets were able to score three runs of their own in the first inning when first baseman Pete Alonso socked a three-run homer.
They followed that up with a massive third inning performance where they scored five runs to take an 8-1 lead.
At the time of publishing, the Mets lead the Dodgers 11-6 in the seventh inning.
