Shohei Ohtani gave the people what they want. In the second game of the two-game Tokyo Series on Wednesday (LAD 6, CHC 3), the Los Angeles Dodgers star slugged a solo home run in the fifth inning off Chicago Cubs right-hander Nate Pearson. These are regular-season games, so this was Otani’s first home run of the new season.
“I know Shohei puts his pants on like we all do, one leg at a time, but if there’s ever a superhero, I think Shohei just seems like a superhero,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “In the biggest of games, in the biggest of moments, he seems to always deliver.”
Ohtani’s home run had to be reviewed because a fan clearly reached over the railing in right-center field. The replay crew determined the ball would have been over the wall anyway, and the home run stood. Here is Ohtani’s first homer of 2025:
Ohtani is the second Japanese-born player to hit a home run in an MLB game played in Japan, joining Hideki Matsui. Matsui hit a two-run home run for the New York Yankees against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the Tokyo Dome on March 31, 2004.
Wednesday’s home run was hardly Ohtani’s first at the Tokyo Dome. He went deep there during his time with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters from 2013-17, again in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and even this past weekend during an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, Matsui’s former team.
Ohtani is MLB’s all-time leader among Japanese-born players with 226 home runs. He won his third MVP last season — all unanimously — thanks to a .310/.390/.646 batting line with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. Ohtani is the first and so far only 50/50 player in baseball history.
Ohtani is expected to return to pitching later this year after he completes the rehab from his September 2023 elbow surgery. The Dodgers have not set a firm timetable for Ohtani’s return to game action as a pitcher, though he has been throwing bullpen sessions.
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