Baseball

Shohei Ohtani Homers at the Tokyo Dome, Delighting Fans in Home Country

AP
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani follows through ona fly out to left in the first inning of an MLB Tokyo Series baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on Wednesday.

21:56 JST, March 19, 2025

TOKYO (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani hit a towering solo homer in his return to the Tokyo Dome, taking Chicago Cubs pitcher Nate Pearson deep with a ball that barely cleared the fence in right-center field on Wednesday night.

Ohtani turned on a 99 mph fastball from Pearson and the crowd roared as the ball traveled on a majestic arc deep into the outfield. A few fans reached for the ball but couldn’t make the catch. Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong threw the ball back into the stands.

The homer was upheld after an umpire review and gave the Dodgers a 6-2 lead, much to the delight of the roughly 42,000 in attendance.

It was another example of Ohtani rising to the moment in a big occasion. The 30-year-old also homered in an exhibition game on Saturday against the Yomiuri Giants.

The homer was Ohtani’s third hit in the two-game Tokyo Series. He was 2 for 5 with a double and a single in the Dodgers’ 4-1 win on Tuesday night.