Baseball

Shohei Ohtani Hits Majors-Leading 39th Home Run against Blue Jays, Extends HR Streak to 3 At-Bats

Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches his solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 28, 2023, in Toronto.

10:46 JST, July 29, 2023

TORONTO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani homered on the first pitch he faced in Friday night’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays, going deep in three straight at-bats over two games.

Ohtani’s major league-leading 39th homer came off Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman in the first inning and traveled 397 feet into the right field bullpen at Rogers Centre.

Ohtani streak of homers ended when he struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch from Gausman in the third inning.

Ohtani homered twice in the second game of a doubleheader at Detroit on Thursday before leaving with cramps. He threw a one-hitter in the opener for his first career MLB shutout.

The two-way superstar became the first player to throw a shutout in one game of a doubleheader and hit one homer — much less two — in the other.

Thursday’s performance against the Tigers came hours after the team confirmed Ohtani will stay with the Angels for the rest of the season before he becomes a free agent.