Exactly as it was supposed to be!

With the National League West last-place Colorado Rockies leading the National League West first-place Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning in front of a sold out Dodger Stadium crowd of 50,730 (with millions more watching on television and listening on radio), 30-year-old Dodgers international superstar designated hitter and future Hall of Famer Shohei Ohtani absolutely destroyed the fourth pitch from Rockies right-hander Seth Halvorsen, an 88.7-mph splitter, sending it 432 feet into the Right Field Pavilion in very deep right-center field to tie the game at 5-5.

And then, on Halvorsen’s third pitch to the very next batter, a 100.6-mph sinker to 31-year-old Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts, the fellow future Hall of Famer sent it 383 feet into the Left Field Pavilion for a dramatic video-game-like walk-off home run to give the Dodgers their MLB-best 93rd win on the season.

“It was just… man, what an ending,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts answered postgame when asked about Sunday’s exciting series finale with Colorado to split the four games. “To start that ninth inning with Shohei continuing to do what he does, and he just doesn’t seem human right now. I mean, I really haven’t seen a player as locked in as Shohei is for as long as he’s been in quite some time.

“And for Mookie, he’s been grinding, and for him to turn around a hundred and one was really impressive, and it just gives us such a good feeling going into an off-day,” Roberts added of Betts’ dramatic walk-off game-winner.

Make no mistake about, the Dodgers come-from-behind win over their last-place division rivals on Sunday was huge, as the NL West second-place San Diego Padres won their fourth straight on Sunday, beating the Chicago White Sox by a score of 4-2 to remain a precarious 3.0 games back of Roberts’ team. As Dodger fans well know, their beloved team opens a crucial three-game set with the Friars at Dodger Stadium beginning on Tuesday night. And though the Dodgers ‘Magic Number’ to clinch the division now sits at four, should the unthinkable happen, the Dodgers could (albeit unlikely) emerge for their enormously important series with the Pads tied for the division lead with only three regular-season games remining againt those same Colorado Rockies at mile-high Coors Field in Denver … where anything can happen.

Play Ball!

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