Shohei Ohtani had another game for the ages on Tuesday, but unfortunately, that was still not enough to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ohtani started on the mound and pitched five no-hit innings with five strikeouts and one walk before he was taken out of the game. In addition to his work on the mound, Ohtani went 2-for-5 at the plate with a home run.
That pulled the Dodgers within a run and was Ohtani’s 50th homer of the season. Coupled with hitting 54 long balls last season, Ohtani became the first player in Dodgers franchise history to slug 50 or more home runs in consecutive seasons.
He also joined elite company by having back-to-back 50-homer seasons, as it’s only been done by six other players in MLB history. Babe Ruth was the first to achieve it, and he did it twice, first from 1920-1921 and then again over 1927-1928.
More recently, it’s been done by Mark McGwire (1996-1999), Ken Griffey Jr. (1996-1998) and Sammy Sosa (1998-2001). Alex Rodriguez (2001-2002) was the last player to accomplish the feat before Ohtani.
Barry Bonds came close to it with his 73 home runs in 2001, but had already fallen one shy with 49 during the 2000 season. Bonds then came a few more short in 2002 with 46 homers.
With his five strikeouts on the mound, Ohtani also reached 54 for the season as a Dodgers pitcher. With 50 home runs and 54 strikeouts, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to reach both of those marks in a single season.
With the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, Ohtani hit a previous career-high of 46 home runs and struck out 156 hitters in 1301.1 innings of work. In 2023, Ohtani struck out 167 hitters in 132 innings and blasted 44 homers.
Last year, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season, creating the first 50-50 club, and now he has created an even more unique 50-50 club.
Dodgers create unfortunate MLB history
While the Dodgers got a historic outing from Ohtani, they ended up making some MLB history they hope to never again see.
The Dodgers became the first team since at least 1906 to get five or more no-hit innings from a starting pitcher before their bullpen allowed nine or more runs in the game..
Justin Wrobleski allowed five runs, Edgardo Henriquez allowed one, and Blake Treinen allowed three more in the 9-6 loss.
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