Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Does Something He Never Did With Angels

Believe it or not, Shohei Ohtani did something else that he had never done before.

On Sunday afternoon, Ohtani blasted his 46th home run of the season which tied his career high, and set a new personal best with 101 runs batted in.

Ohtani’s home run was an impressive shot, measured at 450 feet with a 116.7 mph exit velocity, according to Statcast. The two-time unanimous AL MVP barely kept the ball fair, and after a lengthy crew chief review, the call was confirmed.

The homer was jaw-dropping. It bounced off the 1955 World Series banner below the ballpark’s upper-deck Stadium Club.

The RBI also made him the second Japanese-born player to record more than 100 RBIs in a single season. Hideki Matsui is the other and he did four times.

With only 19 games remaining in the regular season, Ohtani needs four more home runs and four more stolen bases to become the first player in MLB history to reach the 50-50 milestone. He’s already the only player to achieve 46 home runs and 46 stolen bases in a single season.

However, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty stole the spotlight with a scoreless 7.1-inning gem. The Dodgers went on to beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-0.

Flaherty allowed just four hits, struck out six, and issued no walks while nearly completing three full trips through the Guardians’ lineup, which leads the AL Central with an 81-62 record.

“You have to have a guy you feel can take down 24 or 25 hitters; who, when they get stressed once or twice, to trust that they can find a way to navigate it and manage it and keep going,” Roberts told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “When you have guys that you’re afraid of [facing an opposing lineup] the third time through, it puts a toll on the ‘pen. And that’s a tough way to live. … So to have a guy like Jack, it’s a good thing.”

With excellent fastball control and effective off-speed pitches, the 28-year-old delivered his first scoreless start since debuting with the Dodgers on August 3. It was also his first time completing seven innings this season and his longest outing since 2019, as he pitched into the eighth.

His ERA now stands at 2.86 for the year, with a lower 2.61 since joining the Dodgers. The team has won five of his seven starts.

Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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