LOS ANGELES -- On Shohei Ohtani bobblehead night, opposing pitchers beware.
The Dodgers superstar went deep twice and drove in six runs in Thursday's 19-2 rout of the A's, on the same night that his team gave away a bobblehead commemorating his one-of-a-kind 50-50 season.
For those keeping track at home, Ohtani is up to 15 homers and 10 stolen bases, putting him at roughly a 55-36 pace. He's ahead of where he was last year, when he had 12 homers and 10 steals through the Dodgers' first 44 games.
Ohtani's first multihomer showing this season moved him into a tie with the Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber for the Major League lead in home runs with 15 apiece.
"It doesn’t have to be his bobblehead night. That’s kind of just every night," third baseman Max Muncy said. "He’s incredible. It’s really, really fun to be on the same field with him. Every day I kind of expect something crazy, and he seems to do it."
Ohtani has now gone deep in his last three bobblehead nights, beginning with the highly anticipated giveaway that featured Ohtani holding his beloved dog, Decoy, last August. He hit a leadoff blast off the Orioles' Corbin Burnes that day.
This year, on April 2, Ohtani's first bobblehead commemorated his third unanimous MVP Award. After the Dodgers rallied back from an early deficit and excitement built throughout the evening, he walked off the Braves with a solo shot to secure an undefeated 8-0 start to the Dodgers' title defense.
Ohtani's latest performance left manager Dave Roberts once again searching for the right words to describe his superstar -- although he couldn't help but crack a joke about A's catcher Jhonny Pereda sending Ohtani down swinging in the eighth.
"What else can you say?" Roberts said. "I mean, he struck out against a position player, how about that. … There's not many more superlatives you can use for Shohei. Changeup down below for a home run, driving in a run, almost missed another homer.
"He's just playing really good baseball. I mean, we saw it all last year. So he's sort of just doing what Shohei does, which is amazingly not amazing anymore, I guess."
Ohtani's six RBIs were a season high, starting with a sacrifice fly in the second that drove in Dodgers top prospect Dalton Rushing, who notched his first two hits in his Major League debut.
Ohtani's first homer of the night was a three-run blast in a wild third inning where the Dodgers batted around, plating seven runs in total. With his team holding a secure double-digit lead, Roberts opted to give Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Andy Pages the night off early after that big frame.
But Ohtani wasn't done yet. His two-run blast in the fourth gave his team an absurd 13-run lead.
"He's the best player I've ever seen," said Rushing, MLB Pipeline's No. 15 overall prospect. "Anyone can say it. I'll be another one to say it. It's special to be on a team with him and see the things that he does on a baseball field every night.”
The Dodgers combined for a season-high five homers in all, surpassing their previous mark of four -- which was set the night before in Wednesday's 9-3 win over the A's. Ohtani had one of those, too.
"It’s not easy, facing Ohtani, Betts, Freeman," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "It’s a good lineup, and when you make mistakes, these types of hitters can make you pay, and I think we saw that tonight."
There are two more Ohtani bobblehead giveaways scheduled for this season, on Aug. 27 vs. the Reds and Sept. 10 vs. the Rockies. But the Dodgers wouldn't mind making it an even more regular occurrence.
"We need some more," Roberts said. "I think that four or five, I guess, a year is not enough, because when he has a bobblehead night, he seems to really perform."