Shohei Ohtani’s 175th home run in the majors was not only a milestone, it was record-tying.
Ohtani on Friday equaled Hideki Matsui for the most homers by a Japanese-born player with a solo shot during the first inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the San Diego Padres.
“I’m happy personally. It’s an honor to be on the same page as him,” Ohtani said through an interpreter after the Dodgers’ 8-7 loss in 11 innings. “He’s known as a power hitter, left-handed hitter like me. It’s just an honor to be able to be associated with somebody like that.”
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
Ohtani drove an elevated outside fastball from Michael King 403 feet into the center-field stands with one out, for his fourth homer of the season.
On Friday afternoon, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s former longtime interpreter, to undergo gambling addiction treatment in a sports betting case stemming from allegations he stole US$16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to pay off debts.
In a group interview with reporters after the game, Ohtani did not take questions about the investigation.
“We’re talking about baseball,” a Dodgers public relations staff member said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game that Ohtani has handled the situation “with flying colors. He’s done a great job of just focusing on playing baseball and not letting it be a distraction for him.”
Ohtani went 3 for 5 in the 8-7 loss to the Padres in 11 innings. He is batting .457 (16-for-35) during his eight-game hitting streak, including four homers, 12 extra-base hits and seven RBIs.
“He really seemed tonight just like he always has each day, and it’s a credit to him. He’s really unflappable,” Roberts said after the game.
Matsui played 10 seasons in the majors from 2003-2012.
“Mr Matsui was a star player when I was a kid and then Shohei-san tied those numbers, it’s an amazing thing,” Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto said.
Ichiro Suzuki is the only other Japanese-born player to reach the century mark in home runs with 117.
“Obviously, it’s a big deal in the Japanese baseball industry as well. So I’m going to look forward to the next one,” Ohtani said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS