Marlins' Schumaker defends pitching to Ohtani on record HR: 'Go after him'
Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker never considered intentionally walking Shohei Ohtani before he hit the home run that made him the charter member of the 50-50 club.
Schumaker elected to pitch to Ohtani with a runner on third base and two outs in the top of the seventh with the Dodgers leading 12-3. Ohtani proceeded to crush a two-run home run as part of an incredible day at the plate.
"That's a bad move, baseball-wise, karma-wise, baseball-gods-wise. You go after him and see if you can get him out," Schumaker told reporters postgame, per Bally Sports Florida. "Out of respect for the game, we're going to go after him."
Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in the Dodgers' 20-4 rout of the Marlins.
"He's the most talented player I've ever seen," Schumaker said. "He is doing things I've never seen done before in the game. And if he has a couple more of these peak years, he might be the best ever to play the game."
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