Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani finally hit a home run in front of Dodgers home fans.
The Dodgers beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on the 12th (Korea time) in a home game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, in the 2026 Major League Baseball season.
That day the Dodgers set the batting order as Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Kyle Tucker (right fielder), Will Smith (catcher), Freddie Freeman (first baseman), Max Muncy (third baseman), Teoscar Hernández (left fielder), Andy Pages (center fielder), Alex Freeland (second baseman) and Kim Hye-seong (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Emmett Sheehan.
Starter Sheehan gave up a solo home run to Brandon Nimmo in the top of the first, but in the bottom of the first Ohtani tied the game at 1-1. He targeted Texas starter Jack Leiter's fourth pitch, an 86.5 mph slider, and hit a home run over the right-field wall.
It was his fourth home run of the season and his first at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani, who hit his first homer of the season on April 4 at the Washington Nationals' road game, had since hit two more homers on the road. This was his first home run in front of home fans.
MLB.com reported, "Ohtani rocked Dodger Stadium right from the start of the game against Texas." It was his first extra-base hit at home this season and the 25th leadoff home run of his career.
MLB.com said, "This blast was a sign that Ohtani is heating up again." After hitting a homer in his first at-bat, Ohtani added a hit in his second at-bat in the second inning to complete a multi-hit game.
Recently, manager Dave Roberts said, "It's weird that Ohtani hasn't produced extra-base hits or RBIs at home yet. It will come soon. I think it will come today," and that prediction became reality. It finally happened that day. MLB.com added, "The hunch became reality."
Meanwhile, Ohtani's accomplishments did not stop there. MLB.com noted, "This home run meant more than taking the lead," and added, "Ohtani's on-base streak extended to 45 games. He rose to sole fifth place on the Dodgers' franchise list for longest on-base streaks since 1900."
In the previous day's game, Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk and surpassed Ichiro Suzuki to set the record for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese player in Major League Baseball. The Asian record is held by Choo Shin-soo. Choo set an on-base streak of 52 games in 2018 with the Texas Rangers.
With the home run and hit that day, Ohtani's season batting average rose from .265 to .283. The Dodgers also extended their winning streak to two games.
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