MIAMI — — Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. He hit three home runs and stole two bases to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 20-4 victory over the Miami Marlins on Thursday to clinch the playoffs.

“Happy, relieved and very respectful to my colleagues and everyone who played this sport, baseball, before me,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.

Ohtani also became the first player to have three homers and two steals in a game. He doubled twice, had a career-best six hits and set a Dodgers record with 10 RBI. His 51 homers this season broke Shawn Green’s franchise record of 49, set in 2001.

“The individual performance tonight was remarkable,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “With this baseball game, it was a victory for Major League Baseball. I know people all over the world watched this game and we’re excited to see that they had the opportunity to witness history.”

The Japanese star began the day with two homers and one steal shy of the 50-50 mark. Ohtani doubled to open the game and then stole third to reach 50 steals. He stole his 51st base in the second inning.

Ohtani hit a home run in the sixth inning off reliever George Soriano, a 438-foot drive to the second deck in right-center. His 49th home run put the Dodgers ahead 9-3. He was up again in the seventh inning, and Ohtani connected to its historic explosiona shot over the left field wall against Mike Baumann.

“Honestly, I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible,” Ohtani said. “Every time I went to bat, the balls were changing.”

Ohtani was mobbed by his Dodgers teammates as he reached the dugout. The crowd of 15,548 continued to cheer until Ohtani emerged from the dugout for a curtain call.

The Marlins’ home stadium holds special significance for Ohtani. It’s where he struck out star forward Mike Trout for the final out of Japan’s victory over the United States in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship.

“I have experienced perhaps the most memorable moments of my career here and this stadium has become one of my favorite stadiums,” said Ohtani.

With first base still open before Ohtani hit his first two home runs, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker decided to have Soriano and Baumann throw to Ohtani instead of intentionally walking him.

“If it was a close game, up by one run or down by one, I would probably put him in,” Schumaker said. “Being down that many runs is a bad move, baseball-wise, karma-wise, baseball-wise. You go after him to see if you can get him out. I think we would take him out of respect for the game. He hit a home run. That’s just part of it.”

The Dodgers respected Schumaker’s decision.

“A lot of us would look at the opposing dugout and I think a lot of coaches would say to Skip, ‘Hey, we’ve got to let him walk over here,'” Dodgers infielder Max Muncy said. “I’ve always thought Skip was great. When he was the first base coach in San Diego, I used to talk to him all the time. I heard all the guys love playing for him. The fact that he does that, it’s great.”

Roberts added: “The game definitely got out of hand. Guys were taking their starters out and to take that potential moment away from the fans, Shohei himself, Skip understood that. It was bigger than that and I have no respect for that.”

Facing infielder Vidal Bruján in the ninth inning, Ohtani hit his third home run, a 440-foot, three-run homer that capped a six-run inning.

Ohtani’s historic day nearly spanned a cycle, as he was thrown out at third trying to convert his second double into a triple.

The Dodgers, leaders in the NL West, clinched their 12th consecutive playoff berth and lowered their magic number to six in the division.

Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. Flaherty (13-7) walked two and struck out five.

Ohtani gave the Dodgers a 7-1 lead with a two-run double in the third inning against Edward Cabrera (4-8), who was ejected after giving up two consecutive singles with the bases loaded.

Andy Pages hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to extend Los Angeles’ lead to 12-3, scoring on Ohtani’s second home run.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: INF Miguel Rojas (ill) was available as a pinch-hitter and will return Friday, Roberts said.

Marlins: Brujan (shoulder sprain) and OF Derek Hill (left shoulder impingement) have been removed from the injured list.

NEXT

Dodgers: Have not yet named a starting pitcher for the opener of a three-game home series on Friday against LHP Kyle Freeland (5-7, 4.89 ERA) and Colorado.

Marlins: Continue their final home game of the season Friday with RHP Valente Bellozo (2-4, 3.70) opening a three-game series against Atlanta. RHP Charlie Morton (8-8, 4.01) will start for the Braves.

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