Japan celebrates as Ohtani becomes the first major leaguer to reach 50-50 milestone

TOKYO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s feat of becoming the first major leaguer with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season was met with extra editions of newspapers for fans to read on their way to work on Friday morning in Japan.

Ohtani raced past the 50-50 milestone as he hit three homes and stole two bases in a game during the 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Thursday, securing a playoff berth for the Dodgers.

The news topped morning headlines, and “Ohtani-san” was the No. 1 trending topic of social media platform X.

There was also praise from the Japanese government.

“We would like to express our heartfelt congratulations on his achievement of this giant record,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said as he responded to the first question at his regular news conference Friday. “We look forward to seeing more successes from Ohtani, who has already achieve numerous feats and pioneered new grounds."

Ohtani, who debuted in Major League Baseball in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels, has become Japan's national icon and pride.

Yu Tachibana, a 44-year-old office worker, was a lucky one to get a copy of the special newspaper edition for her 18-year-old son who plays baseball. She says nobody had thought a Japanese player would so well a decade ago. “It is very encouraging," she said, as she noted a saying where there is a will, there is a way.

A wave of congratulatory messages were posted on social media.

“Japan’s record-making machine has done it again," U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in his message on X. “Congratulations to Shohei Ohtani on an incredible baseball achievement. A true global ambassador of the game.”

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

Pedestrians try to obtain an extra edition of the Sports Hochi newspaper reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Pedestrians line up to obtain an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Pedestrians read an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A pedestrian reads an extra edition of the Sports Hochi newspaper reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Pedestrians try to obtain an extra edition of the Sports Hochi newspaper reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Pedestrians line up to obtain an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A pedestrian takes a photo of an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jake Sanderson scored 15 seconds into overtime and the Ottawa Senators stretched their win streak to six games with a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

It’s the first time since March 2017 that Ottawa has won six in a row.

Shane Pinto scored twice for the Senators, Claude Giroux added a goal and Josh Norris scored short-handed. Sanderson also contributed a pair of assists.

Leevi Merilainen stopped 21 shots to earn his first NHL victory.

Brock Boeser scored twice for the Canucks, and Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists. Jake DeBrusk rounded out the scoring for a Vancouver side that lost its third straight outing (0-1-2). Kevin Lankinen made 17 saves.

Canucks: The team has lost four of its last five outings and some of its top stars have gone cold offensively. J.T. Miller has not scored in the six games he’s played since returning from a 10-game absence, Elias Pettersson does not have a point in his last six outings and Conor Garland last recorded a goal on Nov. 29.

Senators: Merilainen stepped in for Linus Ullmark, who has been a superstar for Ottawa in recent weeks. Heading into Saturday, Ullmark had powered the team to five straight victories after backup Anton Forsberg went down with an injury during a pre-game skate on Dec. 14.

Boeser knotted the score at 4 with 4:50 left in the game when he blasted a rebound past Merilainen.

Hughes now has 40 points on the season (eight goals, 32 assists). He is the seventh defenseman in NHL history to hit the mark in 33 or fewer games in multiple seasons.

The Senators visit the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, and the Canucks host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

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

Ottawa Senators' Jake Sanderson (85) scores on Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) during overtime of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen (1) stops the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser, right, celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators with Quinn Hughes (43) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators' Jake Sanderson (85) celebrates his game-winning goal with Brady Tkachuk (7) after overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)