LOS ANGELES — One pitch was all it took.
For the second straight day, Shohei Ohtani led off the Dodgers’ half of the first inning with a home run, crushing a first-pitch four-seamer from Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom into the Right Field Pavilion seats. While L.A. got on board first thanks to the big blast, it ultimately fell short of a sweep in a 5-2 loss to Texas in Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Dodger Stadium.
Like the day before, when Ohtani took Texas righty Jack Leiter deep to open the contest, the two-way superstar extended his Major League-leading on-base streak early. It currently sits at 46 games, which is one shy of tying Ron Cey (1975-76) for the fourth-longest on-base streak by a Dodger in the Modern Era (since 1900).
Remarkably, Ohtani had never faced deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner. As it turned out, the 97.9 mph four-seamer that deGrom left over the middle of the plate was all Ohtani needed to see to do damage, scorching it at 108.3 mph off the bat for his fifth home run of the season.
“I liked the first at-bat,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Jacob, when he’s right, he’s one of the best in baseball. So, yeah, I thought Shohei took a couple good at-bats today.”
Ohtani saw deGrom twice more, working a walk on seven pitches in the third inning and drawing one of the intentional variety in the fifth after taking a first-pitch ball.
“I wanted to face him there, honestly,” deGrom said of the fifth inning. “Like I said, he got me on the first at-bat. I walked him on the second at-bat, and then once I fell behind, I was like, ‘Please don’t walk him. Please don’t walk him.’ And then they did. That’s the goal, you want to compete against the best. He’s a great hitter.”
Entering the Dodgers’ second homestand, Ohtani had yet to hit for extra bases at home. But after hitting a leadoff homer on back-to-back days, he seems to be finding his power stroke once again. After hitting his first three long balls on the road last week, Ohtani now leads the Dodgers with five home runs.
Ohtani has the chance to join some exclusive company in Monday’s series opener against the Mets. Only three Major Leaguers have hit leadoff homers in three or more consecutive games in the Modern Era: Brady Anderson (four straight games, 1996), Alex Verdugo (three, 2023) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (three, 2018).
As Ohtani’s on-base streak demonstrates, he’s found a way to make things happen even without hitting for as much power in the early going. If this weekend has been any indication, he appears to be rounding into a more complete form at the plate, two full weeks into the season.
