Otani’s Home Run Breakthrough Against Giants

LOS ANGELES – This month marked a notable change for Otani, who hadn’t gone 10 games without hitting a homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers—until now.

On Saturday evening, he finally broke the drought, making his mark with two home runs against the Giants during an 11-5 victory for the Dodgers.

With these two shots, Otani reached a milestone of 25 homers, a feat he’s achieved for five consecutive years, while his career total climbed to 250.

He came out strong in the first inning, launching a 419-foot homer deep into the right field bleachers at an impressive exit velocity of 110.3 mph.

It had been quite a stretch for him; he went 10 games without an RBI, a notably dry spell that left fans and perhaps himself a bit baffled. “It felt like I hadn’t been hitting homers for a while,” Otani shared through an interpreter. “I think the first homer held more significance, especially for getting things going early in the game.”

His second homer came in the sixth inning, further capping off the night as his 25th, sending another ball into the right bleachers outside the strike zone.

Fans at the stadium responded with a standing ovation, celebrating Otani’s third multi-homer game of the season and the 22nd of his career.

He now stands just one homer away from tying Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh for the lead in the major leagues.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed surprise over Otani’s previous drought. “I think he has a great way of making up for things. If he hits two tonight, it feels like he’s getting back on track. He’s been a bit quiet lately,” he noted.

Indeed, Otani’s performance had been a notch below his usual standard in the weeks following his recognition as the NL Player of the Month in May, where he had amassed 15 homers and 28 RBIs.

Yet, against the Giants, he was back in prime form. He reached base four times, scoring three runs in his first four at-bats, including a pair of walks and a homer in the second inning.

Interestingly, up until now, Otani hasn’t gone 10 straight games without hitting a home run since joining the Los Angeles Angels six years ago.

In recent seasons, he’s consistently hit at least 34 homers and accrued over 95 RBIs, so this dip is quite noticeable.

His OPS stands at 1.023, similar to last year’s figures, but in terms of RBIs, he’s lagging behind; he has only 41 in 69 games this season, compared to 130 in 159 games last year.

However, he doesn’t attribute this to increased workload as he prepares to pitch again for the first time since 2023.

Last Tuesday, Otani pitched three simulated innings in San Diego. Roberts suggests he could be ready to pitch before the All-Star break in mid-July.

“Live BP is really key in my progression,” Otani explained. “The intensity feels different to my body, but it’s necessary to get back on track.”

Committed to his dual role, Otani expressed gratitude for the Dodgers’ support, especially given their current challenges with injuries impacting their pitching staff.

“I feel like being a two-way player was more common in the past. Last year was quite extraordinary for me, but I’ve returned to what I do best,” he concluded.