Shohei Ohtani spent the first six years of his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels before hitting free agency. As we all know by now, he ended up signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played in 701 games for the Angels and Friday night marked his 75th with the Dodgers.
It was his first against the Angels, seeing many of his former teammates.
In his first plate appearance, he gave a tip of the helmet in the direction of the Angels' dugout and then walked. He walked again next time. The third time was the proverbial charm here, as he got a pitch to hit and made it count.
SHOHEI GOES YARD AGAIN!
— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2024
His 5th homer in 6 games comes against his former team 💥 pic.twitter.com/rAaIDxTZCL
The numbers: 113.1 miles per hour off the bat and 455 feet. Yes, it was a prodigious blast.
It was Ohtani's fifth homer in his last six games and he now has 22 home runs on the season. He leads the National League in home runs, slugging and OPS. He hit 171 home runs for the Angels and now has one against them.
Once a player like this homers against his former team, it's always worth looking to see if he has gone yard against all 30 teams. He has not. He's homered against 28 of the 30 teams now, with a goose egg against the Phillies (28 plate appearances) and Cardinals (31 PA).
The Dodgers entered Friday night with a nine-game lead in the NL West while the Angels were 13.5 games out in the AL West.
