Shohei Ohtani has officially caught fire. On Wednesday night, he crushed a home run for the fifth game in a row, tying a franchise record for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Facing Minnesota Twins right-hander Chris Paddack in the first inning, Ohtani crushed a hanging curveball 441 feet to straightaway center. The shot gave him 37 homers on the season, the most in the National League.
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Since joining the majors in 2018, Ohtani now has 46 home runs that have traveled at least 440 feet, three of those coming just in the last week.
The home run places him in rare company, becoming the seventh player in Dodgers history to homer in five straight games. Others on that list include Max Muncy, Joc Pederson, and Roy Campanella.
He’s hit three to center and two to the opposite field during the streak.
Ohtani keeps adding to his milestones
Wednesday’s shot marked his 262nd career homer, tying him with Frank Robinson for 10th most in a player’s first eight MLB seasons. Ted Williams is next on that list with 265.
Ohtani also holds the franchise record for most home runs before August 1 and leads all National League hitters in that category since Barry Bonds (45) and Luis Gonzalez (41) passed 40 in 2001.
After his homer, Ohtani was walked intentionally in the ninth and came around to score the game-winning run on a walk-off hit by Freddie Freeman. It was the Dodgers’ eighth walk-off win of the season.
He’ll get his next shot at home run number six on Friday in Boston against the Red Sox. The all-time MLB record for consecutive games with a home run is eight, held by Dale Long, Don Mattingly, and Ken Griffey Jr. With the Green Monster in play and Ohtani seeing the ball well, it’s not out of reach.
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