PITTSBURGH — Home runs just sound different off Shohei Ohtani‘s bat. But the crack of the bat on his latest blast was something else entirely.
Ohtani hammered a solo shot off Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler at a resounding 120 mph off the bat in the third inning of Tuesday night’s 9-7 loss at PNC Park. It was the hardest-hit ball not only of Ohtani’s career but also by a Dodger since Statcast began tracking in 2015.
“It’s loud,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I didn’t appreciate how hard it was off the bat, but it got out pretty quick. For most guys it’s a single, but for him it’s a homer.”
The laser shot to the right-field seats was also Ohtani’s 100th home run as a Dodger. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Ohtani is the fourth Major Leaguer to reach the century mark in homers in his first two seasons with a franchise. The others are Babe Ruth (1920-21, Yankees, 113 homers), Alex Rodriguez (2001-02, Rangers, 109) and Roger Maris (1960-61, Yankees, 100).
Ohtani has reached that threshold in 294 games, making him the third fastest to 100 homers with a team in terms of games played among players who have debuted since 1900, per Elias. Only Mark McGwire (Cardinals, 230 games) and Ruth (Yankees, 250) got there sooner. Rodriguez (Rangers, 295) was just a hair slower.
“At this point, there’s not much more he can do to amaze me,” Mookie Betts said. “It’s just another homer for Shohei.”
It should come as no surprise that Ohtani achieved this latest feat with a bang. He has the Dodgers’ 15 hardest-hit batted balls in the Statcast era, including the postseason. His 120 mph blast slots in as the sixth-hardest-hit home run tracked by Statcast. The record-holder calls PNC Park home — Oneil Cruz, who smoked a 122.9 mph homer earlier this year on May 25.
Ohtani’s 46 homers this season rank third in MLB behind the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (51) and the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber (49). Forty-two of the roundtrippers have come with Ohtani in the leadoff spot, passing the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (41 in 2023) for the most in a season in Major League history.
After Clayton Kershaw gave up a four-spot in the first inning, Ohtani’s solo shot helped the Dodgers inch within two runs of the Pirates. For a spell, it seemed like it may have been the spark his team needed to recalibrate, as L.A. came back to tie the game on an Andy Pages drive in the fourth.
But a leaky Dodgers bullpen allowed the Bucs to seize the lead back.
“That’s the thing,” Roberts said, “is that I thought that there were different points in the game that we showed some life. And then, unfortunately, we just couldn’t kind of put up that zero to build off of it.”
With the loss, the Dodgers could see the 2 1/2-game lead in the National League West that they carried into Tuesday shrink, pending the outcome of the Padres’ game against the Orioles in San Diego. They also missed out on the chance to move within a game of the Phillies for the second-best record among NL division leaders.
Following the tough series opener, Ohtani will be on the mound as the Dodgers aim to even the three-game set on Wednesday. He’s coming off his first pitching win of the season, but L.A. has dropped six of the 11 games he’s started on the mound.
Earlier in the season, Roberts described Ohtani as the type of player who tries to will his team to a win. That applies even more when he has a chance to impact the game on both sides of the ball.
Ohtani will be tasked with his full two-way duties on Wednesday, but Tuesday was all about his bat. He delivered as he typically does, and Roberts expects that he will be even better as the Dodgers fight to remain atop of the division down the stretch.
“I think his swing really has shortened up a little bit to get to the velocity,” Roberts said. “And he had a good month of August, and he’s off to a good start. … I think that September is going to be his best month yet.”
