Shohei Ohtani beats Alex Rodriguez's historic milestone during dominant outing against Giants
Shohei Ohtani got back in form after a 10-game spell that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers DH go through a home run drought after leading the all-MLB charts. During their Saturday game against the San Francisco Giants, 'The Sho' went yard twice, setting a new record in the process.
Shohei Ohtani became the fastest player in the history of baseball to hit 250 home runs and steal 150 bases, thus establishing himself again as one of the best power-speed batters of all time. He reached the mark in 944 career games, but only 928 of them were as a batter. He was 49 games faster than the next best, Alex Rodriguez.
The 30-year-old led off with a homer against Giants starter Landen Rouper on the fourth pitch of the game. His home run traveled 419 mph with an exit velocity of 110.3 mph off the bat. His second came five innings later, hitting a 78 mph curve ball that just went over the fence for his third multi-homer game of the season.
Shohei's epic two-homer night broke his ten-game drought, which saw him go 10-for-40 with a .683 OPS, much lower than his season 1.023 OPS. As the generational player that he is, Ohtani still managed to have an eight-game streak during that stretch. But the absence of power in his game was felt and seen.
“It did feel like I haven’t hit a homer in a while,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after the game. “In terms of the context of the two homers, I felt that the first was more significant just being able to score early in the game.”
Shohei Ohtani opens up about getting back to his two-way game
Shohei Ohtani had his third simulated game with live hitters on Tuesday before their game against the San Diego Padres. He has been able to ramp up his rehab process and get to three innings of pitching that needed 44 pitches. There has been steady progress on his return as a starter almost two years since his second injury.
When asked about his workload, the Japanese phenom explained that being a pitcher alongisde being a hitter is the normalcy he would like to continue in.
"I do feel like just being the two-way player that I used to be was the norm," Ohtani said. "So, last year really was the abnormal year. For me, it's just about getting back to what I used to do."
The Dodgers are very much in need of Shohei to take the mound, as three main members of the rotation - Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki - are out due to injury, although they have been cautious about rushing it.