MIAMI — Shohei Ohtani stole his 50th base and hit his 49th home run against the Miami Marlins on Thursday, putting the Los Angeles Dodgers star one home run away from the first 50/50 season in Major League history.

Ohtani hit a leadoff double against Edward Cabrera and stole third on the front end of a double steal with Freddie Freeman, who reached on a walk. Ohtani later scored on a sacrifice fly by Will Smith to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. An inning later, Ohtani recorded his 51st stolen base of the season when he stole second on a single.

Ohtani has completed his last 28 stolen base attempts.

Ohtani later hit his 49th home run of the season, a two-run homer in the sixth inning off George Soriano, giving the Dodgers a 9–3 lead.

He stole his 49th base in Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Marlins. He hit his 48th homer in the series opener Tuesday night, sweeping 1-1 off Marlins right-hander Darren McCaughan, sending the ball 402 yards to right field.

He is the sixth player in Major League history and the fastest player ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season, needing only 126 games.

Manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday’s game that he had noticed Ohtani becoming more aggressive on the bases in the second half of the season.

“I also think Shohei realized how good of a base stealer he’s become, or can become,” Roberts said. “I think he enjoys the challenge of studying pitchers and learning their tendencies. I think that’s something that intrigues him.”

Ohtani broke his previous career high in stolen bases, which was 26 with the Angels in 2021. He did so as a two-way player, but Ohtani has not pitched this season as he recovers from elbow surgery, allowing him to focus on hitting and baserunning as the Dodgers’ everyday designated hitter.

This report used information from The Associated Press.