Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) went 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk on Wednesday (July 13) against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Ohtani came to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, trailing 4-5, and took a two-pitch 92.9 mph (about 149 km/h) sinker from Grant Anderson over the center field fence. He knew it was a home run the moment he hit it and did a bat flip. It was a big home run, with a bat speed of 114.1 mph (183 km/h) and a distance of 459 feet (140 meters).
Neither team scored in the regular inning, forcing the game into extra innings. And Ohtani came through. He led off the top of the 12th inning and smashed a 92.7-mph (149 km/h) cutter from Cole Logans over the left field fence. The home run pushed Ohtani over the 20-homer plateau.
Ohtani passed Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) 메이저사이트 for the American League lead in home runs. He also recorded 100 strikeouts and 20 home runs for the third straight year.
The Angels later added to their lead when Mike Trout singled and scored on Chad Wallach’s two-run homer. Texas got one run back in the bottom of the 12th on a Zack Neto throwing error, but couldn’t get any more runs across and the game ended with a 9-6 Angels win.
The Angels are 37-31 and in third place in the American League West. They closed the gap to 5.5 games over first-place Texas with a 41-24 record. They are also one game back of the third wild card, the Houston Astros (37-29).
After the game, the praise for Ohtani poured in. “He’s the best player in the world,” Brent Maguire of The Athletic said on social media. Ben Verlander of FOX Sports posted a video of Ohtani on social media with the caption “MVP. MVP. MVP. MVP”.
“Texas is the No. 1 team. “They’re the No. 1 team in the country, and all the guys are excited (to win),” he said, adding, “To get the first game of a four-game series against Texas is huge.
In addition to leading the league in home runs, Ohtani was the top vote-getter in the second mock MVP poll conducted by MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball. He is also second overall behind Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves in the first round of All-Star Game fan voting.