Japanese Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani, 29, of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, activated his home run machine for the second time in three days.
Ohtani hit a mid-month solo home run in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday (July 17).
Batting second with one out in the top of the first inning, Ohtani took a two-pitch, 154-kilometer fastball over the center field fence on a 1-0 pitch count from Texas starter John Gray.
Gray’s fastball was high in the strike zone, but Ohtani scooped it up for a helmet-to-helmet home run.
With his 42nd home run of the season, Ohtani moved to within one of Matt Olson (43, Atlanta Braves) for the major league lead.
In the American League (AL), he is alone in first place, 10 games ahead of second-place Luis Robert Jr. (Chicago White Sox), who has 32 home runs.
The Angels took a slim 1-0 lead on Ohtani’s solo shot before Matt Tice hit another solo homer in the top of the ninth to make it 2-0.
Ohtani added infield singles in the third and eighth innings to finish 3-for-4, raising his season average from .302 to .306.
Angels starter Reed Detmers earned the win, 먹튀검증 allowing just one hit and four walks while striking out five over seven and a third innings.