Ohtani stays on a tear, setting another MLB record in 14th game with a home run and a steal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is at it again.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar hit his 52nd home run and stole his 52nd base on Friday night, breaking the major league record for going deep and stealing in the same game.

It's the 14th time Ohtani has achieved the feat, bettering Rickey Henderson's mark of 13 games set in 1986 with the New York Yankees.

Ohtani's heroics occurred a night after becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.

“The last couple games he's locked in,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

He reached on an infield single to first base in the seventh and then stole second.

Ohtani's 52nd homer off a 3-2 pitch from Kyle Freeland traveled 423 feet to center field, scoring Max Muncy and put the Dodgers ahead 3-2 with two outs in the fifth inning.

Ohtani keeps showing a flair for the dramatic during his historic first season with the Dodgers.

In Miami on Thursday, Ohtani had the first three-homer game of his career — all coming after the sixth inning — his first six-hit game and a franchise and career-record 10 RBIs. No one in MLB history has done that before.

He finished the night with 51 homers and 51 steals.

He also stole two bases and nearly hit for the cycle, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch his second double into a triple while showing off his rare combination of speed and power.

Ohtani was greeted with a standing ovation as he led off the first inning Friday. Chants of “MVP! MVP!” rang out and fans stayed on their feet with their phones out to record his at-bat. Ohtani went down swinging but the crowd applauded again as he walked back to the dugout.

Replays of Ohtani's historic night played on the video board during batting practice.

“People just like to watch greatness," Roberts said, "and he’s going to go down as one of the greats of all time.”

Rockies manager Bud Black marveled at Ohtani's achievements, although he'd prefer the superstar holds off on burnishing his credentials until the three-game series ends.

“He can start Monday,” Black said.

Ohtani clearly didn't get the message.

He also singled twice in his 11th three-hit performance of the season.

Ohtani's previous bests were 46 homers and 26 stolen bases in 2021, when he won the first of his two American League Most Valuable Player awards while playing for the Los Angeles Angels.

Now he’s the favorite for NL MVP honors.

It seems there are no limits for Ohtani.

He was the fastest player to reach the 40-40 mark with a ninth-inning grand slam against Tampa Bay in his 126th game on Aug. 23 .

Now he has nine games left to see what else he can do in the regular season.

“Knowing him, he’s probably looking at 60-60,” Roberts said. “I would say it’s very unrealistic, but with him anything’s possible.”

The Dodgers clinched a postseason berth for the 12th consecutive season with their 20-4 rout of the Marlins on Thursday. It’s nothing new for them, but it is for Ohtani. He has played 865 games without making a postseason appearance, more than any other active player.

“He will be very prepared and focused,” Roberts. “I think the whole world is looking forward to him in October.”

Ohtani made it clear in signing a $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers last December that competing for a championship is what drives him.

“The No. 1 goal is to get to the postseason and win the World Series,” he said last month.

During his six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, they never made the playoffs or had a winning record.

The NL West-leading Dodgers are looking to lock up their 11th division title in 12 seasons.

Ohtani’s amazing feats are occurring during a season in which his closest friend betrayed him and he isn’t pitching while he rehabilitates from elbow surgery last offseason.

He skipped the Home Run Derby during All-Star weekend in July to avoid potential further injury, although as designated hitter he slugged a three-run homer in the National League’s loss.

Not pitching has kept Ohtani’s arms and legs fresher and quicker, while allowing him to focus and improve on other parts of his game. He’s honed his craft of running and stealing bases, learning how to get good jumps off opposing pitchers by studying video of their tendencies.

Dodgers fans could be witnessing a once in a generation side of Ohtani’s game. Once he resumes pitching every five days next year, his legs may not allow him to steal as many bases.

The Ohtani effect is visible off the field, too.

Fans created mob scenes in and around Dodger Stadium during his two bobblehead giveaways. The final Ohtani promotion is Saturday when T-shirts featuring his likeness will be given to the first 40,000 fans.

Japanese tourists flock to the stadium for tours, resulting in the team adding more Japanese-speaking guides. The team has signed a slew of Japanese sponsors, too.

“He’s one of one,” Roberts said.

AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani gestures toward the Dodger bullpen after hitting a single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) returns to the dugout after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. MaxMuncy also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani works out before a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani singles during the third inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani runs on a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, of Japan, hits a home run, scoring Max Muncy and Chris Taylor, during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) waves to fans after he hit a home run scoring Andy Pages, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates his 51 home run of the season during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — An 11-year-old Egyptian girl and her 18-year-old sister were among those killed after Mexican army troops opened fire on a truck carrying migrants earlier this week, an official said Friday.

The sisters, and four other migrants from countries including Peru and Honduras, were killed on Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas.

An official in the state’s prosecutors office confirmed the identification of the two sisters and said their father was wounded in the shooting, but survived.

Federal officials, including newly inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum, again refused Friday to confirm the ages or genders of the six migrants killed in the shooting, which occurred on Sheinbaum’s first day in office.

Soldiers claimed they heard shots and returned fire and officials have studiously avoided saying the migrants were killed by army gunfire. However, that appears to be the case, and two soldiers have been relieved of duty and turned over to civilian prosecutors for questioning.

The killings placed in doubt Sheinbaum's statements over her first days in office that human rights will be at the forefront of her administration's policies.

Asked about her immigration policy Friday, Sheinbaum said only that the killings were under investigation and doubled down on earlier claims that the government doesn't violate human rights.

“First of all, human rights are respected,” Sheinbaum said. “That is very important, that is why it is called a humanistic immigration policy, because human rights are at the forefront.”

Three of the dead were from Egypt, and one each from Peru and Honduras. The other has apparently not yet been identified.

Ten other migrants were wounded in the shooting. but there has not been any information on their conditions.

Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed one Peruvian was killed and demanded “an urgent investigation” into the killings. Peru and Mexico have had damaged relations since a 2022 diplomatic spat.

It was the worst killing of migrants by authorities in Mexico since police in the northern state of Tamaulipas killed 17 migrants in 2021.

Sheinbaum has said the shootings are being investigated to see if any commanders might face punishment, and noted “a situation like this cannot be repeated.”

But she left out any mention of that Thursday at a ceremony at a Mexico City army base, where army and navy commanders pledged their loyalty to her in front of massed combat vehicles and hundreds of troops.

“In our country, there is not a state of siege, there are no violations of human rights,” Sheinbaum said, as she promised wage increases for soldiers and sailors.

The shootings Tuesday occurred near the city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.

The Defense Department initially said that soldiers claimed to have heard shots as a convoy of three trucks passed the soldiers’ position.

The Attorney General’s Office later said all three trucks ignored orders to stop and tried to flee. The soldiers pursued them and reported coming under fire from the convoy, and returned fire.

One of the trucks eventually stopped, the driver reportedly fled, and a total of 33 migrants were found aboard, from the three countries already mentioned, as well as Nepal, Cuba, India and Pakistan.

The Defense Department said four of the migrants were found dead, and 12 wounded. Two of the wounded later died of their injuries. Sheinbaum refused to say whether any weapons were found in the migrants’ truck.

The area is a common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks. It has also been the scene of drug cartel turf battles, and the department said the trucks “were similar to those used by criminal groups in the region.”

Irineo Mujica, a migrant rights activist, said he doubted the migrants or their smugglers opened fire.

“It is really impossible that these people would have been shooting at the army,” Mujica said. “Most of the time, they get through by paying bribes.”

If the deaths were the result of army fire, as appears likely, it could prove a major embarrassment for Sheinbaum.

The new president has followed the lead of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in giving the armed forces extraordinary powers in law enforcement, state-run companies , airports, trains and construction projects.

It is not the first time Mexican forces have opened fire on vehicles carrying migrants in the area, which is also the object of cartel turf battles.

In 2021, the quasi-military National Guard opened fire on a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing one and wounding four. The Guard officers initially claimed some of those in the migrants’ truck were armed and had fired shots, but the governmental National Human Rights Commission later found that was not true.

And in 2021, state police in Tamaulipas killed 17 migrants and two Mexican citizens. Those officers also initially claimed to have come under fire from the migrants’ vehicles.

They argued they were responding to shots fired and believed they were chasing the vehicles of one of the country’s drug cartels, which frequently participate in migrant smuggling. But that later turned out to be false, and the police in fact burned the victims’ bodies in an attempt to cover up the crime.

Eleven of the policemen were convicted of homicide and sentenced to over 50 years in prison.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shakes hands with National Guard officer Itzel Karina Valencia, right, during a troop review alongside Defense Minister Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, left, at Campo Marte in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)