Major League Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers 'superstar' Ohtani Shohei hit his first home run in front of home fans. That blast also extended his streak of reaching base in consecutive games.
The Dodgers defeated the Texas Rangers 6-3 in a home game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on the 12th (KST) in the 2026 Major League Baseball season.
That day the Dodgers' batting order was Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Kyle Tucker (right field), Will Smith (catcher), Freddie Freeman (first base), Max Muncy (third base), Teoscar Hernández (left field), Andy Pages (center field), Alex Freeland (second base) and Kim Hye-seong (shortstop) in that order. The starting pitcher was Emmett Sheehan.
Starting pitcher Sheehan gave up a solo home run to Brandon Nimmo in the top of the first, but in the bottom of the first Ohtani hit a tying solo home run. He targeted Texas' hard-throwing 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. He sent Dodger Stadium into a frenzy by hitting a home run in his first at-bat of the game in front of home fans. MLB.com reported, "Ohtani rocked Dodger Stadium at the start of the game against Texas."
MLB.com added, "Batting leadoff in the first inning, Ohtani took Leiter's 86.5 mph (about 139 km/h) slider and sent it over the right-field wall for a home run. It was his first extra-base hit at his home park this season and the 25th leadoff home run of his career."
Ohtani's accomplishment did not end there. MLB.com noted, "This home run meant more than just the first score," and added, "Ohtani's on-base streak extended to 45 consecutive games. Ohtani moved into sole possession of fifth place on the Dodgers' all-time longest on-base streak list since 1900."
In the previous day's game Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk, surpassing Ichiro Suzuki to set the longest on-base streak by a Japanese player in Major League history.
The Asian record is held by Choo Shin-soo. Choo set an on-base streak of 52 consecutive games in 2018 when he was with the Texas Rangers.
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