Shohei Ohtani slugs his 45th home run of the season as Dodgers star seems poised to become first to 50-50

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani took another step toward becoming the first 50-50 player in baseball history Friday night. Ohtani slugged his 45th home run of the season, a towering solo shot to center field off Cleveland Guardians lefty Matthew Boyd . His career high is the 46 home runs he hit during his first MVP season with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021.

Here is Ohtani's 45th home run of 2024:

Ohtani also had a single in Friday's game, though he did not attempt to steal a base. The Dodgers have 21 games remaining and Ohtani is five homers and four steals short of becoming baseball's first 50-50 player. At it stands, the 45 homers and 46 steals are the highest individual totals by anyone in a single season.

Ohtani reached 40-40 with a walk-off grand slam on Aug. 24 . He got there in only 129 team games, by far the fastest in history.  Here are the other five 40-40 players:

It should be noted that, if Ohtani does reach 50 homers and 50 steals, he will not only become the first 50-50 player in history. He'll be only the third player with a 50-homer season and a 50-steal season at any point in his career. Only Bonds (73 homers in 2001, 52 steals in 1990) and Brady Anderson (50 homers in 1996, 53 steals in 1992) have done it.

For the season, Ohtani is hitting .281/.376/.617 with those 45 homers and 46 steals. He leads the National League in homers, RBI (100), OPS (.993), OPS+ (177), total bases (339), and WAR (7.2). Ohtani is well-positioned to capture his third MVP award, and his first in the NL.

Ohtani and the Dodgers will face righty Gavin Williams in the second game of their weekend series with the Guardians on Saturday. Ohtani has never faced Williams.