1 of 5 | Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani became the first player in the National League to hit 30 home runs this season in a win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in Los Angeles. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Fans were out of luck trying to catch Shohei Ohtani’s latest home run, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star belting the 473-foot shot out of Dodger Stadium in a 9-6 triumph over the Boston Red Sox.
Ohtani detonated the batted bomb in the fifth inning of the victory Sunday in Los Angeles. The blast traveled 116.7 mph off his bat and hovered 110 feet above the field on its way over the right field fence and into a plaza outside the gates. Advertisement
“I really couldn’t see where it went,” Ohtani told reporters.
Ohtani went 1 for 3 with an RBI, run scored, walk and a strikeout for the Dodgers. The Dodgers designated hitter, who is hitting .315, also became the first player in the National League to reach 30 home runs this season. He totaled 70 RBIs through his first 97 games. Advertisement
His home run Sunday was his second-longest of the season, trailing only a 476-foot shot against the Colorado Rockies on June 18 in Denver. Sunday’s homer also was the third-longest hit by any MLB player this season, trailing only San Francisco Giants slugger Jorge Soler (478 feet) and his June blast.
Still, Sunday’s missile into uncharted territory awed fans, teammates and manager Dave Roberts.
“I mean, you look at how far that ball went and how hot it came off the bat,” Roberts said. “It’s just hard to fathom someone hitting a baseball like that.
“He did say he got all of it. That’s just where people don’t go. Just really impressive.”
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, second baseman Gavin Lux, catcher Austin Barnes and outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Jason Heyward also homered. Lux went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Dodgers starter James Paxton allowed four hits and three runs over five innings to improve to 8-2 this season.
All-Star outfielder Jarren Duran hit a 396-foot, two-run homer in the second at-bat of the game to give the Red Sox an early edge. Freeman responded with a 417-foot solo shot in the bottom of the inning. Lux tied the score with an RBI double two at-bats later. Advertisement
Hernandez ripped a 372-foot solo homer to right in the bottom of the third for a 3-2 Dodgers lead. Lux added insurance with a solo shot to leadoff the bottom of the fourth.
Barnes hit another leadoff homer for the Dodgers in the fifth. Ohtani then settled in against Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford.
The Dodgers slugger watched the first two pitches of that exchange miss the strike zone. He then missed a cutter for his first strike of the matchup.
Ohtani proceeded to belt a 1-2 Crawford cutter to right field for his mammoth moonshot.
Red Sox utility man Ceddanne Rafaela cut the deficit in half with an RBI single in the top of the sixth. Dodgers third baseman Cavan Biggio pushed the lead back to four with an RBI single in the eighth. Heyward smashed a two-run homer in the next at-bat.
The Red Sox rallied with two runs in the ninth, but could not completely close the deficit. Dodgers relief pitcher Dan Hudson forced outfielder Wilyer Abreu to fly out in the final at-bat of the night to earn his sixth save of the season.
The Dodgers (59-41) will host the San Francisco Giants (48-52) at 10:10 p.m. EDT Monday at Dodger Stadium. The Red Sox (53-45) will battle the Rockies (36-64) at 8:40 p.m. Monday in Denver. Advertisement
