Ohtani steals 49th base in Dodgers' 8-4 win over Marlins

MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani stole his 49th base and moved closer to becoming the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 steals in a season as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 8-4 Wednesday night.

Ohtani, who began the day two shy of each mark, singled to lead off the game then swiped second. He flew out to left, struck out, lined out to right and struck out in his next four plate appearances.

Tommy Edman hit his sixth homer in the last eight games for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who remained 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Diego. Enrique Hernández and Will Smith also went deep and Freddie Freeman had three hits.

Dodgers starter Landon Knack (3-4) gave up two hits over five scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out seven.

Smith gave Los Angeles an early lead with his solo homer in the second. He drove a fastball from Miami starter Ryan Weathers over the wall in left for his 19th homer.

The Dodgers broke it open with a five-run fourth against Weathers (3-6). Edman hit a two-run homer and Hernández added a three-run drive.

Miami narrowed the deficit on Otto López’s two-run single off Zach Logue and Nick Fortes’ sacrifice fly against Blake Treinen in the seventh.

Chris Taylor increased Los Angeles’ lead with a two-run single in the eighth.

Weathers’ outing ended after Freeman’s one-out double in the fifth. The left-hander, who made his first appearance since June 7, gave up six runs and eight hits while striking out five. He was sidelined because of a left index finger strain.

Before the game, the Dodgers activated right-handed reliever Joe Kelly from the injured list and selected Logue’s contract from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Kelly relieved Knack and pitched a perfect sixth. The club optioned right-handed pitchers Bobby Miller and Michael Grove to Oklahoma City.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (left big toe bone spur) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and manager Dave Roberts considered it an important step in his rehab. ... INF Miguel Rojas was a late scratch because he was “feeling under the weather,” according to Roberts.

Marlins: RHP Max Meyer (right shoulder bursitis) is continuing his rehab program at the club’s spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla. He will be evaluated in the next days for a possible throwing program.

UP NEXT

RHP Jack Flaherty (12-7, 3.04) will start the series finale for the Dodgers on Thursday while the Marlins will go with RHP Edward Cabrera (4-7, 4.55).

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

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernández (8) tags out Miami Marlins' Xavier Edwards (63) as he dives into third base during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Tommy Edman (25) hits a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

CORRECTS PLAYER TO KIKE HERNANDEZ INSTEAD OF TEOSCAR HERNANDEZ - Los Angeles Dodgers' Kiké Hernández (8) hits a three-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Tommy Edman (25) celebrates his two-run home run with Will Smith (16) during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) is unable to catch the throw on an error by third baseman Enrique Hernández, as Miami Marlins' Xavier Edwards reaches safely to first during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Kike Hernández (8) flashes a smiles after hitting a three-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after striking out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

MUNICH (AP) — Security has tightened at Oktoberfest in the wake of last month’s deadly knife attack in Solingen in western Germany, and officials warned revelers to expect longer lines at entry points as metal detectors will be deployed for the first time in the Bavarian beer festival's 189-year history.

Authorities say there are no specific threats to the world's largest folk festival, which begins Saturday with the traditional keg-tapping in Munich and runs through Oct. 6. Some 6 million participants, many wearing traditional lederhosen and dirndl dresses, are expected over the course of the event.

The stepped-up security comes after an Aug. 23 attack in Solingen that left three dead and eight wounded. A 26-year-old Syrian suspect was arrested. He was an asylum-seeker who was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation. The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the violence, without providing evidence.

The violence left Germany shaken and pushed immigration back to the top of the country’s political agenda. In response, the Interior Ministry extended temporary border controls to all nine of its frontiers this week. The controls are set to last six months and are threatening to test European unity.

The effects of the Solingen attack and other recent violence across Germany will also be felt at Oktoberfest. Hand-held metal detectors will be used for the first time, with police and security staff using them on a random basis or following suspicious activity.

“We have had to react to the fact that attacks with knives have increased in recent weeks and months,” Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter told The Associated Press during a media tour of the festival grounds to highlight the new security measures. “We will do everything we can to ensure that nobody comes to Oktoberfest with a knife or other dangerous weapons.”

In addition to some 600 police officers and 2,000 security staff, more than 50 cameras will be installed across the grounds of the festival, which will be fenced off as well. Festival goers also are prohibited from bringing knives, glass bottles and backpacks.

Oktoberfest is no stranger to increased security in the past. In 2016, authorities implemented tighter measures in response to a series of attacks, including when a German teenager fatally shot nine people at a Munich mall before killing himself.

Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College London, said Oktoberfest officials are taking a sensible approach to security in light of Solingen, as well as other recent foiled plots across Europe. Extremists and groups like the Islamic State seek locations where an attack would garner international headlines and “cause a lot of terror,” he said.

French authorities say they thwarted three plots against the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and other cities that hosted the summer events, which included plans to attack “ Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris.” And Austrian officials last month arrested a 19-year-old who had allegedly plotted to attack now-canceled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna and kill tens of thousands of fans.

“These are all global events where you can expect to cause a lot of attention,” Neumann said.

Neumann said the Islamic State has been gaining momentum during the Israel-Hamas war.

The group referenced the war when it claimed responsibility for the Solingen violence, saying the attacker targeted Christians and that as a “soldier of the Islamic State” he carried out the assaults “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”

Oktoberfest is a difficult event for police to secure, though authorities say there haven't been any concrete threats to the festival.

“It’s an iconic event and this is exactly the kind of event that they’d want to strike,” Neumann said. “But with millions of people — drunk people to be honest — running around, it’s really difficult to control every movement.”

The festival's organizer, Clemens Baumgärtner, promised a safe public space, possibly "the safest place in Germany" during the 16 days of Oktoberfest.

A view of the new ride "Laser Pix", during a press tour at the Oktoberfest, in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (Lennart Preiss/dpa via AP)

Police officer patrol, during a press tour at the Oktoberfest, in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (Lennart Preiss/dpa via AP)

A brass band plays during a press tour at the Oktoberfest, in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (Lennart Preiss/dpa via AP)

Workers stand on a lifting platform during construction work on the Oktoberfest grounds at the main entrance, in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)