Cunning and the New York Mets used the "secret formula" to suppress Shohei Ohtani to win

Griffin Canning wasn't in jeopardy when he faced Shohei Ohtani in five innings on Thursday morning (Wednesday night local time in Los Angeles), but it was his toughest moment of the night: with a three-point lead, the Dodgers got someone on the spot. If the Dodgers want to fight back, this is the opportunity.

Canning threw the ball to its full capacity and unleashed a speedball that was first visible and headed straight for the hitter, then went into the base corner and into the good ball belt. Presiding judge Jansen Visconti ruled for a strikeout, and reigning National League MVP Ohtani retreated to the rest area. The New York Mets won 6-1 and sealed the season series.

The New York Mets' four-game win over the defending champion Dodgers in six games is key to suppressing Shohei Ohtani, one of the two most dangerous players in baseball today. Ohtani has hit 0.301/0.399/0.671 against other teams this season and has plummeted to 0.208/0.286/0.458 against New York Mets.

"Overall," said Paul Blackburn, the New York Mets' starter on Monday, "our pitching strategy worked. "

Cunning benefited from suppressing Ohtani, and he didn't concede points in six innings, setting a season's best starter. Pete Alonso's five-point support gave the New York Mets their easiest win to date against the Dodgers.

Ohtani hit four hits and two hits (both non-threatening first base), and the New York Mets pitchers were happy to see it. Although there were two Yangchun cannons against the New York Mets in the six games this season, the opponent didn't mind - Yangchun cannons are usually difficult to change the tide of battle.

What New York wants to avoid is the tension that Otani could trigger if he narrows the three-point gap in the fifth inning. At that time, Alonso had not yet blasted the second of the eight innings that Statcast measured 447 feet and sealed the game in eight innings. So when Canning hit four consecutive sliders to form a 3-1 lead, the atmosphere at Dodgers Field gradually boiled.

The fifth ball slipped off the outside corner and Visconti still had a good award. After the ball was full, Canning threw the best set-piece of the game to freeze Ohtani.

"I don't want to back down," Cunning said of the shot, "and he had a strong swing at the speedball in the front seat. As a top speedball player, I relied heavily on sliding balls to maneuver, and eventually switched to a speedball raid with a 3-2 ball count. "

Having teamed up with Ohtani during the Angel period from 2019 to 2023, Canning is well aware of his habits. He said that suppressing the heavy gunners would require "changing the strategy for each duel".

"It's all about keeping the fastball out of the attacking zone," Dodgers head coach Dave Roberts analyzes, "and it's mostly changing in the good ball zone, and it's constantly changing positions — inside squeezes, outside inductions, and very little repetitive pattern." "

Putting this into practice is easier said than done. Inside Dodger Stadium in particular, Ohtani was a celebration: Michael Bublé's "Feeling Good" stirred up emotions as fans watched each ball, knowing full well that his violent swing of the bat could hurt at any moment.

The New York Mets pitchers are well aware of this and are still trying to "block out the noise" (Tylor Megill). They focused on their strengths: Blake attacked Ohtani on Monday with a combination of a high post inside fastball + a low outside slow ball — a strategy based on more than a dozen meetings in the American League West; On Tuesday, Mergill pursued unpredictability, such as freezing Ohtani with a speedball strike strike out when leading 1-2 (regular speedball timing).

"There's a secret recipe," Megill admits, "and every hitter has a way to crack it." "

Asked before the game on Wednesday about his success in suppressing Ohtani, New York Mets head coach Carlos Mendoza declined to respond with a superstitious laugh, jokingly saying that "there are still two games to be played." Now only the final game remains, and the season series advantage is decided.

"Every team has a plan, but in the end it depends on the execution of the players," Mendoza said, "and he's still a great hitter and it's not easy for him to get into the zone." Thankfully, so far – knocking on the wood – we've done a great job. "