Shohei Ohtani, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), started as the first designated hitter in the 2024 MLB showdown against the Los Angeles Angels at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on the 22nd and left two hits in two at-bats (one homer) with two RBIs and two walks.
The highlight was a cool home run. It was in the bottom of the fifth inning with the score tied 0-0. Ohtani, who had walks in both of his previous two at-bats, faced a situation with two outs and runners on the first base. After a tug of war with Matt Moore, he hit a fastball of 91.1 miles per hour (about 146.6 kilometers) at the 3rd ball in 1B1S, and coolly crossed the central fence. He posted a batting speed of 113.1 miles (about 182 kilometers) and a flying distance of 455 feet (138.7 meters).
It was Ohtani’s 22nd in this season. He set aside seven home runs in March, April and May, respectively, but is building cannons with steeper momentum this June. He set aside eight home runs with about a week left, surpassing his previous monthly record.
The National League (NL) home run king race is also remarkable. Ohtani, who won the 20th home run for the fourth consecutive year in the away game of the Colorado Rockies on the 19th, was on par with former leader Marcel Ozuna (Atlanta Braves, 20). He then led the game against Colorado on the previous day (21st), and succeeded in widening the gap on the day.
Ohtani, who became the first American League (AL) home run king last season, will move to the NL and challenge himself to win the home run king title and the two league home run king title for the second consecutive year. 토토사이트 추천
Ohtani added an infield hit in the bottom of the eighth inning, resulting in multiple hits. It is the seventh multi-hit game he has made this month. With hits continuing in six consecutive games, he is displaying strong batting performance by making four of them multi-hit and one of them three-hit games.
His season report card showed an improvement in batting average of 0.322 (96 hits in 298 times at bat) and 22 homers and 55 RBIs in 75 games. He added an on-base percentage of 0.398 and a slugging percentage of 0.628, marking an OPS of 1.026.
Meanwhile, the first regular season showdown between the Dodgers and the Angels, which was followed by the “Otani Derby” following the LA rivalry game, ended with the Angels’ 3-2 victory. The Dodgers led with Ohtani’s two-run shot, but the Angels immediately scored two points back to extend the extra time. At the end, the Angels secured a one-run victory with Taylor Ward’s RBI single in the top of the 10th inning.
The Angels won their first overtime victory of this season and ended their 10-game losing streak against the Dodgers. The team has secured 30 wins (45 losses) this season and is currently ranking fourth in the American League West. The Dodgers lost 31 games (47 wins) this season, but still maintains its lead in the NL West by eight games against the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks.