
To say there is no one in baseball like Shohei Ohtani is not a complicated claim.
But it’s still amazing each and every time the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar does something that no one has done before in MLB history.
Like clockwork, that happened again Tuesday night.
Ohtani started on the mound for the Dodgers against the Phillies. He went five no-hit innings, striking out five and walking just one while averaging 99 miles per hour on his fastball.
Later in the game, Ohtani hit a home run.
The Dodgers still lost, because the bullpen imploded almost immediately upon Ohtani’s removal.
That made Ohtani the only player in MLB history to throw five or more hitless innings, hit a home run and still have his team lose, per OptaStats.
The Dodgers could’ve left Ohtani in on the mound, with him being about 20 pitches shy of his season-high, but he’d reached his somewhat standardized five inning threshold, and the Dodgers opted for caution.
It’s still mind-blowing that Ohtani does what he does.
It was his 50th home run of the season, too.
Ohtani is the sixth player in MLB history to hit 50 homers in consecutive seasons, according to MLB Network’s Sarah Langs.
Babe Ruth did it twice. Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. each did it. Sammy Sosa holds the record by doing it in four consecutive seasons. Alex Rodriguez is on the list. And now Ohtani.
And it won’t be long before Ohtani finds another way to do something that’s never been done before on a baseball diamond.
There truly is no one like Shohei.