Classes Passing a Full Ball Outside, Ohtani 5050 1st Anniversary This time, he helped Kershaw's history
Sep 20, 2025
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Ohtani led the San Francisco Giants to a 6-3 victory by hitting a three-run home run in the home game at Dodger Stadium on the 20th (Korea time).
Kershaw, who announced his retirement the day before, took the mound as a starter as scheduled. 21st appearance of the season and the last home game of his career. A full crowd of 53,037 people gathered, and four children, including wife Ellen and eldest son Charlie, were in the stands.
However, Kershaw struggled from the start due to persistent pioneering by San Francisco hitters seeking wild cards.
Kershaw allowed a home run to leadoff right-handed hitter Eliot Ramos in the top of the first inning. He threw an 85.9-mile slider on the third pitch to the low middle course and was struck by a cannon that flew well over the left-center fence. Kershaw, who then struck out Willie Adames swinging, walked Rafael Devers and missed Matt Chapman's ground ball due to an error by third baseman Kique Hernandez, who was on first and second bases with one out. However, he struck out Wilmer Flores with a big curve and struck out Casey Schmidt with a fly to right field to end the inning with difficulty.
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With the Dodgers tying the game 1-1 with Miguel Rojas' home run in the bottom of the second inning, Kershaw gave up another run in the third inning. After giving up a double to right-center to Chapman after one out, Flores hit a heavy hit and lost the lead 2-1 again. After finishing the fourth inning with one hit and no run, Kershaw also took the mound in the fifth inning, trailing 1-2. The atmosphere was strange, well over 80 pitches, but Kershaw put the lead Devers to rest with a 89-mile (143.2km) low fastball on the fifth pitch in the ball count of 2B2S.
Manager Dave Roberts' replacement was right after Kershaw's 3045th strikeout. Kershaw, who hugged the infielders one by one, responded with a hug as Roberts approached and patted the shoulder with words of good work.
Kershaw, who came into the dugout in return for taking off his hat to the crowd giving a standing ovation, hugged each other again with Dodgers coaches, players, and support personnel. When the curtain call of 50,000 fans hung over him, he came out of the dugout again and thanked him with his hands on his chest. The live legend farewell ceremony took about three minutes.
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Ohtani then entered the batter's box and hit left-hander Robbie Ray's 95.5-mile fastball that flew outside the fifth pitch to lead to a home run that went well over the inside of the left foul pole. He hit his 52nd home run of the season with a 30-degree launch angle, a 100.2-mile batting speed and a 370-foot flying distance.
For a moment, Dodger Stadium turned into a frenzy. Soon after, Mookie Betts hit a solo shot to the middle wall, and the victory tilted toward the Dodgers.
It was a year since Ohtani hit 50 home runs and 50 steals in the first season in major league history against the Miami Marlins at Rondipo Park last year. In the game, Ohtani went 6 for 6 with 10 RBIs, four runs scored, and two steals, including three homers. Coincidentally, he hit the decisive cannon that gave Kershaw's final home game a year later.
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Ohtani said "It's great to end the historic day with a victory. I tried to get any ball right and send it to the fair area, but (the home run) was loaded properly with power and came out positively."
Kershaw will make his final regular season appearance next week against the Seattle Mariners, but his post in the postseason is still uncertain. For now, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have been confirmed as starters, and if one more starter is needed, Kershaw, Ohtani or Emmett Sian is expected to be hired.
NFL LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, his best friend since childhood, visited Dodger Stadium to applaud his friend's last home game, and former Dodgers teammates Austin Barnes, Russell Martin, Jimmy Rollins, Trace Thompson, AJ Pollock and Andre Idea were also in the stands.
What was disappointing was the fact that both Korean major leaguers Kim Hye-sung and Lee Jung-hoo couldn't get on the ground. However, the two also witnessed a historic scene.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
