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Shohei Ohtani closes Tokyo Series with a home run

Shohei Ohtani finished his 2024 MVP season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. It’s the first time in Major League Baseball history that a player tallied 50 homers and 50 SBs in a season. However, that was last year, capped off by a World Series title for the Dodgers. But for 2025, the National League Most Valuable Player is off to a good start with a home run.

Ohtani saved the best for last during the 2025 Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs. He scored the Dodgers’ last run in the two-game stretch by sending the ball to the right-center field seats. It took a while for the umpire to certify the home run but he decided to Los Angeles’ favor after further review.

His first home run this season makes Ohtani the second Japanese-born player to homer in an MLB game at the Tokyo Dome, following Hideki Matsui’s 2004 home run. Likewise, the home run came off a 99.1 mph pitch, the second-fastest pitch Ohtani converted to a home run. That speed was 1 mph slower than the pitch Paul Skenes threw that the Japanese sensation sent to the stands.

With 160 games left, Shohei Ohtani has plenty of time to reach the 50-50 milestone. More importantly, he and the Dodgers started their title defense on the right track with two consecutive victories.

-Lance Fernandez

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