"Maybe the guys in New York were admiring" - Max Muncy takes sly dig at Yankees with Shohei Ohtani edging closer to Aaron Judge's home run tally
Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers are showing no signs of slowing down. The National League West leaders added another series victory with a 4-0 shutout win over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.
The Japanese superstar smashed his 46th home run of the season, a solo shot to tie his career high, in the fifth inning of the series finale against the Guardians. But Shohei Ohtani's shot was reviewed to see if it was fair.
After the game, Ohtani's teammate Max Muncy talked about the delay in reviewing the home run, taking a jibe at the New York Yankees and AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge.
Muncy said:
"We were just curious why it was taking so long to look at the replay. Maybe the guys in New York were admiring it just as much as we were."
Yankees captain Aaron Judge leads the MLB with 51 home runs, but the former AL MVP has been without a homer in his last 11 games. That has allowed the Dodgers' NL MVP front-runner Shohei Ohtani to slowly close the gap on the Yankees slugger.
Muncy also contributed to his team's series-deciding win with a solo home run in the eighth inning.
Shohei Ohtani continues his hot form while Aaron Judge hits a slump
There has been constant conjecture around who is having a better season between Ohtani and Judge. Ohtani is in the running to become the first MLB player to make the 50/50 club while Judge was on pace to eclipse the AL home run record he set in 2022.
While Aaron Judge is going through an uncharacteristic home run drought at the moment, Shohei Ohtani continues his pursuit of an unprecedented landmark. Apart from his 46 home runs, a career-high tally he reached in 2021 for the Los Angeles Angels in his first AL MVP-winning campaign, Ohtani also has a career-high 46 stolen bases this season.
As the postseason-bound Dodgers continue their march in the NL West, the Yankees are struggling to stitch wins together as a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday ended their two-game winning streak. The Cubs will host the Dodgers for a three-game series starting on Monday.