Ohtani notched his 1,000th career Major League hit on Wednesday afternoon against the Cardinals, crushing a two-run blast in the bottom of the third inning at Dodger Stadium. He joined Ichiro Suzuki (3,089) and Hideki Matsui (1,253) as the only Japanese-born players to reach 1,000 hits in the Majors.
Four active members of the Dodgers have collected at least 1,000 Major League hits. Ohtani joined Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández, who got there earlier this year.
Not only did Ohtani put his team ahead with the milestone knock, but he was also his own run support. Ohtani made his eighth start as a pitcher in the rubber game — which featured an Ohtani replica World Series ring giveaway — and he stretched out to a full four innings for the first time this season.
Ohtani began his day on the mound with two scoreless innings before surrendering a run to the Cardinals in the third. Jordan Walker reached when second baseman Miguel Rojas lost a popup in the sun, then eventually came around to score on Brendan Donovan’s bunt single.
With the Dodgers trailing, Trade Deadline acquisition Alex Call doubled to lead off the bottom of the third, his first hit since joining the team. Two batters later, Ohtani ended a stretch of nine straight games without a homer with a booming blast that traveled a Statcast-projected 440 feet to left-center at 109.5 mph off the bat.
Ohtani concluded his afternoon on the mound by striking out the side in the next half-inning. He struck out eight of the 14 hitters he faced without allowing a walk, throwing 54 pitches (37 strikes) to complete his longest outing of the season. Ohtani’s strong performance dispelled any lingering concerns from his previous start on the mound, which ended early due to cramping in his right hip.
