The Dodgers may want to add another giveaway to the 18 bobblehead dolls and assorted jerseys, sweatshirts and hats in this year’s promotional calendar: a chest protector night with free catcher’s gear for fans in the right-field pavilion.

One unfortunate fan could have used a body armor in the first inning Wednesday night when Shohei Ohtani sent a 120 mph laser with a launch angle of just 19 degrees into the right-center field seats, hitting his career-high 47th home run and setting the tone for the eventual 10-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Chavez Ravine.

“I feel sorry for the fan who tried to catch that,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “Every night I feel like he’s doing something we’ve never seen before.”

Tommy Edman had a great night for the Dodgers, hitting a two-run homer from the right side of the plate to left field in the first inning and a two-run shot from the left side of the plate to right in the eighth inning, making it four home runs in 24 hours. The switch-hitter, however, was more impressed by Ohtani’s skill than his own power.

“Every day he does something and you think, ‘I’ve never seen that before,'” Edman said. “In the day game on Sunday, he hit the ball (450 feet) off the (stadium bat) in right field and tonight’s home run was the lowest (launch angle) I think I’ve ever seen. He smashes the ball. To do that and steal as many bases as he did is pretty incredible.”

Ohtani’s home run sparked a five-run, six-hit first inning in which Edman, Will Smith and Muncy hit two home runs in a row. It’s the second time this season the Dodgers have hit three home runs in a row and four home runs in an inning.

Ohtani worked a walk in the second inning and stole his 48th base, continuing his march toward baseball’s first 50-50 season. He also hit a two-out, two-run single to center field that sent his bat to 111.6 mph and gave the Dodgers a 7-3 lead in the third inning.

“We all know exactly what’s going on,” Smith said of Ohtani’s 50-50 quest. “It’s fun to watch him. It’s fun to have a chance to see it every night. … It’s pretty impressive what he does individually, but he also helps us win games.”

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The Dodgers actually managed to avoid a three-game sweep, extend their lead in the National League West to five games over Arizona and five and a half games over San Diego, and reduce their magic number to clinch the division title to 12 with 16 games remaining.

But they didn’t make it easy. Right-hander Bobby Miller likely pitched himself out of a possible playoff rotation spot with his second straight poor start. He allowed six runs and five hits — two of them home runs — while allowing four walks and two strikeouts in 4⅓ innings, raising his ERA to 8.17 in 12 starts.

Miller, who gave up seven runs and three home runs in a 10-1 loss to the Angels on Sept. 4, worked two walks and allowed an RBI single by Isaac Paredes and an RBI double by Michael Busch in the first inning. He allowed a solo home run by Seiya Suzuki in the third inning and a three-run shot by Cody Bellinger in the fifth inning that put the Cubs within 7-6.

“I think he’s working hard,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s battling as well as he can, but he didn’t have a feel for the curveball. He didn’t hit it very often. They made good swings with the fastball. The changeup was good at times. The walks certainly didn’t help.”

Reliever Daniel Hudson replaced Miller in the fifth inning and walked two batters. An error by second baseman Chris Taylor on Nico Hoerner’s potential double-play grounder loaded the bases and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI single tied the score at 7-7.

The Dodgers took an 8-7 lead in the seventh inning when Smith hit a double to right-center field with one out and moved to third base on Muncy’s groundout. Miguel Rojas drew a walk and Gavin Lux, who came on as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning, hit a game-winning RBI single to center field with two out.

Teoscar Hernández hit a two-out single in the eighth inning, and Edman’s two-run homer gave the Dodgers two more important runs and a 10-7 lead.

Evan Phillips retired the team in order in the eighth inning, and Michael Kopech survived a harrowing ninth inning by walking the first three batters before getting Paredes to hit a sacrifice fly to right. The Cubs gifted the Dodgers an out when Suzuki was ejected while attempting to steal third base, and Busch struck out, ending the game.

“I saw a lot of fighting spirit,” Roberts said. “It’s been a while since I felt the energy and excitement in the dugout that we had in the first inning. We got off to a really good start, took a couple hits, gave up a big inning and the lead and fought back.”

Ohtani could also gain the upper hand in a heated battle with New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor for the NL Most Valuable Player award.

Ohtani, the American League MVP in 2021 and 2023, had the best offensive season with a .292 average, a .992 on-base plus slugging percentage, 47 home runs, 30 doubles, seven triples, 104 RBIs, 116 runs, 48 ​​stolen bases on 52 attempts, 74 walks and 146 strikeouts in 143 games.

Lindor entered Thursday’s game with a .268 average, an .832 OPS, 31 home runs, 28 doubles, one triple, 85 RBIs, 102 runs, 27 stolen bases on 31 attempts, 54 walks and 122 strikeouts in 146 games.

But while Ohtani was demoted to designated hitter while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Lindor played Gold Glove-level defense at a premium position and averaged 17 outs above average, leading the NL, according to Fangraphs.

Both players have kept their teams in the playoff race, but Ohtani, who is looking to join Frank Robinson as the only players to be named MVP in both leagues, could become the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.

“I think it’s a good debate,” Roberts said when asked if a DH wins the MVP over an outfielder. “I liken it to a pitcher winning the MVP. If you stand out enough from the field, I think it deserves consideration.”

“And when you talk about someone who is about to do something that no one has ever done before, a 50-50 season, to me that’s about standing out from the rest of the field.”

Ohtani and Lindor ranked first and second in the NL in wins above replacement, with Ohtani (7.2) leading Lindor (6.5) in Baseball Reference’s version of the all-encompassing metric and Lindor (7.2) ahead of Ohtani (6.8) in the Fangraphs model.

“After everything we’ve been through, Shohei’s first at-bat and his performances have kept us afloat,” Roberts said. “For him to hit 600 at-bats and have an unprecedented season was very valuable.”

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.