Shohei Ohtani will put the finishing touches on another probable MVP season while Charlie Blackmon will close his 14-year career on Sunday afternoon when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies meet in Denver on the final day of the regular season.
Los Angeles will send left-hander Anthony Banda (3-2, 3.14 ERA) to the mound against Colorado right-hander Ryan Feltner (3-10, 4.66).
Banda has made three career relief appearances against Colorado and has a 13.50 ERA while Feltner is 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA in five outings against the Dodgers.
Los Angeles (97-64) clinched the best record in baseball before Saturday night’s 13-2 win over Colorado (61-100), thanks to the Philadelphia Phillies losing to the Washington Nationals earlier in the day.
With no seeding to worry about, the focus will be on Ohtani, the favorite to win the NL MVP, who has an outside shot at the Triple Crown.
He leads the NL in home runs (54) and RBIs (130), but his .310 batting average is second to San Diego’s Luis Arraez (.314), who sat out Saturday’s game against Arizona.
“It’s very unlikely,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani winning the batting title. “I would expect Arraez to play (on Sunday). We’ll see if Shohei can throw another big day.”
Ohtani has made the batting title competitive with a hot September. Over the past nine games he is 26-for-39 with six home runs, six doubles, 20 RBIs and nine stolen bases. He raised his average from .291 on Sept. 1.
Roberts said he noticed a shift in Ohtani’s approach after he reached the 50 home-run mark earlier this month.
“I thought his goal was to hit .300 when he started to hit balls to left field to get base hits,” Roberts said. “I see intent, at more times, to hit the ball flat, versus trying to elevate the baseball.”
Ohtani potentially being the first National League Triple Crown winner since 1937 might overshadow Blackmon’s final game. The longest-tenured player currently on the Colorado roster — second to only Hall of Fame member Todd Helton — will be celebrated Sunday to wrap up his career.
He announced Monday he would retire, and it has given a spark to his final days. In five games since the announcement, he is 7-for-19 with a home run and four RBIs. He was 1-for-4 Saturday night.
Blackmon, 38, will retire near or at the top of several categories in franchise history. He is first in triples (68) and second in games (1,623), hits (1,804) and total bases (2,955), all behind Helton.
Colorado has honored Blackmon throughout the weekend series and declared Sunday Charlie Blackmon Day.
“I don’t really grasp the gravity of it just yet,” said Blackmon, who has been an All-Star four times and won the 2017 NL batting title. “[Baseball] is pretty much all I’ve known. I feel like I’ve never really worked a day in my life, but I do work really hard at the same time.”
The Rockies have lost 100 games for two straight years after avoiding that distinction for the first 30 years of their existence.
“You don’t like it, you don’t like losing,” manager Bud Black said.
