Mishits by most players end up being outs. For Shohei Ohtani, they can result in home runs.
The Japanese star on Tuesday night became the third player in Los Angeles Dodgers history to reach 20 homers in the team’s first 55 games with a two-run towering drive during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians.
Ohtani joined Gil Hodges (21 in 1951) and Cody Bellinger (20 in 2019) as Dodgers with at least 20 homers in the first 55 games. It is the 64th time a player in the majors did it in the same span, the first since the New York Mets’ Pete Alonso in 2023.
Photo: AP
“It’s really cool. A little bit jealousy probably. You know, he basically mishits a fly-ball today and it still goes out,” said Max Muncy, who added a three-run homer in the Dodgers’ 9-5 victory. “It’s just one of those things where he does that stuff that no normal human beings can do. It’s really fun to watch and see it.”
Ohtani — a three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) who leads the major leagues in homers — drove a cutter from Tanner Bibee into the left-field stands for a 4-0 lead. It was the fourth time this season Ohtani has gone deep to the opposite side.
“It wasn’t flushed, but it was spun the right way. It was just one of those balls that when he hit it, it just kept going like a helium ball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Photo: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / USA Today
It was the second time this season and 10th since Ohtani came to the majors from Japan for the 2018 season that he has homered in three straight games. That also includes a stretch of eight in the past 13 games.
In Philadelphia, Bryce Harper left the Phillies 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves in the first inning after he was hit near the right elbow by a 95.3mph (153kph) fastball from starter Spencer Strider.
Harper sustained a bruise, and an X-ray was negative, the Phillies said.
“I’m not a complete sociopath, so I have some empathy,” Strider said. “I do feel bad for him, to see a person in pain that I caused.”
Strider was voraciously booed by Phillies fans when he left the mound as the inning ended and the jeers grew even louder when he trudged off the mound after 4-2/3 innings.
Elsewhere, the St Louis Cardinals topped the Baltimore Orioles 7-4, the Detroit Tigers mauled the San Francisco Giants 3-1, the Minnesota Twins bested the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2, the New York Mets outplayed the Chicago White Sox 6-4 and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-2.
The Milwaukee Brewers overcame the Boston Red Sox 5-1 in 10 innings, the Texas Rangers blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0, the Houston Astros dominated the Athletics 11-1, the Chicago Cubs survived the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in 11 innings and the Seattle Mariners devastated the Washington Nationals 9-1.
The New York Yankees pipped the Los Angeles Angels 3-2, the San Diego Padres rebounded from a six-run deficit to beat the Miami Marlins 8-6 and the Pittsburgh Pirates also overcame a six-run deficit to stun the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-6.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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