On a night when Japan’s contribution to American baseball was in the spotlight, Shohei Ohtani crushed his National League-leading 27th home run while going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs Tuesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers walked off 6-5 winners against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On Dodger Stadium’s “Japanese Heritage Night” commemorating the country’s players in Major League Baseball, Ohtani doubled and scored in the first, and gave the Dodgers a 4-3 seventh-inning lead by driving a high-inside 1-0 slider from Justin Martinez deep into the bleachers in right-center.
Fans attending the game received souvenir uniform shirts with sleeves decorated with patterns inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e art. Ohtani said it made the game different.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 2, 2024, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
“Today was special. It felt like there were more Japanese fans than usual,” he said. “I’m happy to have hit the home run, most of all that we won.”
“That was a big game-changing moment. I had a good feel with the home run. I’ve been able to maintain feel (for my batting). I want to preserve it.”
Ohtani took his career MLB RBI tally to 501, making him the third Japanese after Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui to reach 500. He also moved two homers away from 200 in MLB, a milestone never before reached by a Japanese.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts heaped more praise on his designated hitter.
“I don’t think there’s a better hitter on the planet,” Roberts said. “Shohei is very storybook. Whenever there is anticipation for something to happen, it happens. Guys like that are like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.”
The Diamondbacks scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to take the lead. The Dodgers, down to their last out in the ninth after Ohtani struck out, tied it on doubles by Will Smith and Freddie Freeman, and a Teoscar Hernandez single ended it.
Seiya Suzuki hit his 11th homer, and his first in three games, in the Chicago Cubs’ 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
With his team trailing 6-1 in the ninth with two on and no outs, Suzuki drove a fat 3-1 fastball out to center at Wrigley Field to get the Cubs back in the game.
Suzuki went 2-for-4 while his team produced just five total hits.
Masataka Yoshida went 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI for the Boston Red Sox in an 8-3 win over the Miami Marlins.
