LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani matched the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record by hitting a home run in his fifth consecutive game on Wednesday.
Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to achieve this feat, which he did last year.
Ohtani, leading the National League with 37 home runs, connected with a slow curveball from Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack in the first inning.
He launched the ball 441 feet into center field, showing off a bit by carrying his bat down the first baseline with a flip.
While he didn’t hit another home run later in the game, his impact was certainly felt.
With two outs and the Twins ahead by one run, Rocco Baldelli chose to intentionally walk Ohtani, likely seeing him as a significant threat. This gave Estery Lewis a chance to walk as well, loading the bases for Freddie Freeman, who came through with a two-run hit to left field.
Both Betts and Ohtani scored, helping the Dodgers to a crucial 4-3 win.
Ohtani did not address the media after the game.
Manager Dave Roberts commented on Baldelli’s decision to walk Ohtani, saying, “It was the right call. Shohei’s got five games with home runs in a row now, which is really impressive. He uses the whole field and keeps hitting those fastballs. Freddie did well too.”
When asked if he was surprised by the Twins’ decision, Roberts replied, “No, I wasn’t surprised at all. It was the right decision; it just didn’t work out.”
This marks the seventh time in Dodgers’ history that a player has hit home runs in five straight games. Ohtani now joins the ranks of Max Muncy, Joc Pederson, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, Shawn Green, and Roy Campanella.
Ohtani, who is also the three-inning MVP, boasts a .276 batting average with 70 RBIs. He has been pitching well as well, coming back strong as a starter after his second right UCL repair surgery. He’s set to pitch four innings on Monday in Cincinnati.
On Thursday, with a day off, Ohtani will look to extend his streak to six games when the Dodgers face the Boston Red Sox.
His personal record for consecutive games with home runs stands at eight, held long ago by Dale Long, Ken Griffey Jr., and Don Mattingly, with Griffey last achieving this in 1993.
When asked if he believed Ohtani could reach eight consecutive games, Roberts said, “I don’t know. If he approaches it like he did last week, that Green Monster is pretty close. So, if he hits fly balls, those could easily be home runs. He just needs to maintain that same mindset in Boston.”
