Shohei Ohtani blasted his 39th home run of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger 13 with an exit velocity of at least 113 miles per hour.
Shohei Ohtani has been mashing all season long, and the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar didn't show any signs of slowing down on Sunday., blasting a home run and stealing two bases against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The 30-year-old designated hitter wasn't done just yet, as he came through in a big way during Sunday's series finale in St. Louis.
After coming up empty in his first two at-bats, Ohtani stepped up to the plate with one out and nobody on in the top of the fifth. Sonny Gray left a curveball hanging over the middle on the first pitch of the at-bat, and Ohtani immediately made him pay. Ohtani crushed the ball 113.5 miles per hour with a launch angle of 22 degrees, sending it 396 feet to right-center field. It cleared the fence, putting Los Angeles on top 1-0., that was Ohtani's 13th home run with an exit velocity of at least 113 miles per hour this season. That is good for the third-most in the Statcast era, which began in 2015.
Giancarlo Stanton set the record with 18 such bombs in 2017, while Aaron Judge ranks second with the 15 he hit that same season.Despite the fact that Ohtani is batting .135 with a .658 OPS since Aug. 6, he is still boasts a .290 batting average and .990 OPS on the season as a whole. His 6.1 WAR leads all National League position players, placing him right in the center of the NL MVP race in the first year of his 10-year, $700 million contract.
Alfonso Soriano remains the fastest ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season, doing so in 147 games. Ohtani is on pace to blow that mark out of the water, and he would become the sixth player ever to join the 40-40 club in the process.Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Matt Strahm outduels Shohei Ohtani (again), Phillies win clinches the season series against the DodgersSix of the Phillies’ nine hitters recorded multiple hits. Edmundo Sosa drove in a team high three RBI, including a ninth inning solo home run.
Read more »
Dodgers win again behind home runs from Mookie Betts, Shohei OhtaniBetts drives in three runs with a home run and a single in his return from a hand injury and Ohtani adds his 36th home run of the season and 33rd stolen base in a 5-2 win.
Read more »
Mookie Betts homers in return, Shohei Ohtani hits No. 36, Dodgers beat Brewers 5-2Mookie Betts homered and drove in three runs to mark his return from a broken left hand, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the…
Read more »
Auction for Historic Dodgers Shohei Ohtani Baseball Open for Bids SoonThe fan who caught Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani's 176th career home run ball on April 21 has decided to auction the historic ball. It is expected to sell four around $200,000 with a starting bid of $50,000. The auctioning will begin Aug. 23.
Read more »
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Joins Former Teammate Mike Trout in MLB HistoryShohei Ohtani is now up to 35 home runs, 32 stolen bases and five triples as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, putting up a stat line that had only ever been achieved by Mike Trout.
Read more »
Los Angeles Dodgers' Star Shohei Ohtani Just Keeps Making Insane History in 2024Shohei Ohtani has put together a season's worth of numbers and it's only mid-August!
Read more »