DENVER – A pitcher rehabbing from Tommy John surgery just had one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history. Shohei Ohtani finished his first regular season as a full-time DH and Dodger by going 1 for 4 with a stolen base as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1 Sunday afternoon, ending the season with their 98th victory. The one-hit day left him four points short of Luis Arraez in the National League batting title race. Arraez was 1 for 3 and finished at .314 to Ohtani’s career-high .310. “I didn’t think about the Triple Crown, nor was I aware of how far or close I was to it today,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “Just today I was focused on having quality at-bats.” Ohtani did lead the National League in home runs (54) and RBIs (130) as well as runs scored (134) and the trifecta of on-base percentage (.389), slugging percentage (.646) and OPS (1.036). His 411 total bases were tied for the fifth-most in MLB since 1940, the most since Sammy Sosa, Luis Gonzalez and Barry Bonds in 2001 and the most in Dodgers franchise history. His 54 home runs and 99 extra-base hits are also franchise records. All this, of course, while having baseball’s first 50-50 season. He is the presumptive NL MVP. It will be his third MVP in seven seasons and make him only the second player in history to win the award in each league (Frank Robinson being the other). “First and foremost I think the most important part of all this is that I was able to play consistently throughout the whole year,” Ohtani said. “I’m very thankful and grateful for all the staff who supported me throughout this year.” He finished his first season as a Dodger with a 12-game hitting streak during which Ohtani went 29 for 53, raising his batting average 22 points (from .288). “Well, obviously, you’ve seen a superstar,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think the thing that I marvel at is the expectations that are put on him, that he puts on himself, and to still go out there every day and put on a show. I can’t imagine the pressure with all those expectations.” Ohtani exceeded those expectations by every measure, Roberts said. “I just thought that there were times early (in the season) where there was more chase. But this last month, he’s really locked in,” Roberts said. “And I think that that kind of showed him really how much better he can be. Because there were ways early to get him out — crowding him, down below, up. But now his control of the strike zone has just gone to another level. And then the base-stealing obviously, we’ve never seen that type of efficiency.” Ohtani denied that he had changed anything to prompt this finishing kick which seemed to go to another gear when he approached the 50-50 milestone. “I haven’t really changed my approach,” he said. “(I was) not necessarily trying to get base hits. But it’s always about improving my quality of at-bats. I thought that I was able to increase and better my quality of at-bats later.” After pummeling Rockies pitching for 24 runs on 33 hits in the first two games of the series, the Dodgers started their bye week early, The went down meekly against Rockies starter Ryan Feltner, managing just two hits (both singles by Teoscar Hernandez) in his six-plus innings. In a scenario Roberts said before the game the team was “considering” for a postseason game, Anthony Banda handled the first inning as an ‘opener’ before giving way to Landon Knack. Knack gave up a monster home run to Sam Hilliard in the second inning – a 476-foot drive into the upper reaches of Coors Field – and no more in four innings. That stood as the only run of the day until Chris Taylor shot an opposite-field solo home run over the scoreboard in right field to tie the game in the eighth inning. It was Tayslor’s first home run since July 7. After hitting .095 into early June, Taylor has hit .303 (20 for 66) since the All-Star break. “I think my year is what it is. I’ve accepted that for a while,” Taylor said. “My goal is to help this team win any way I can and try to get ready for the postseason. I’m kind of hanging my hat on being ready and helping this team win the World Series.” Related Articles Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers clinch best record in baseball then beat Rockies again Los Angeles Dodgers | Shohei Ohtani stays hot with another 4-hit game as Dodgers beat Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers settle on starting pitchers for NLDS Los Angeles Dodgers | Alexander: Dodgers handled adversity all season, but the real challenge has arrived Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers rally past Padres for 11th NL West title in last 12 years Singles by Austin Barnes and Ohtani put runners on with one out. A double steal gave Ohtani his 59th steal of the season and 36th in a row without being caught. A balk brought in the go-ahead run. Ohtani finished with 25 home runs and 36 stolen bases after the All-Star break, leading the majors in both categories. Only one other player (since the All-Star Game started in 1933) led the majors in home runs and steals after the All-Star break – Willie Mays did it in 1955. The Dodgers finished the season with a five-game winning streak and will now get five days off before hosting Game 1 of their best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday.