Shohei Ohtani’s Power Surge: Leading the Dodgers and MLB

LOS ANGELES – One pitch. That’s all it took for Shohei Ohtani to electrify Dodger Stadium once again. For the second consecutive day, Ohtani launched a leadoff home run in the first inning, this time sending a 97.9 mph four-seamer from Texas Rangers’ ace Jacob deGrom soaring into the Right Field Pavilion. Despite the early offensive spark, the Dodgers fell short of a series sweep, losing 5-2 to the Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

Following his impressive performance on Saturday against Jack Leiter, Ohtani extended his Major League-leading on-base streak to an astounding 46 games. This remarkable streak places him just one game shy of tying Ron Cey’s franchise record of 47 games (1975-76) for the fourth-longest on-base streak by a Dodger in the Modern Era (since 1900).

A First Look at a Duel Between Stars

Interestingly, this marked the first time Ohtani had faced the two-time Cy Young Award winner, Jacob deGrom. The result was swift and decisive. Ohtani didn’t need to see many pitches, crushing the fastball at an exit velocity of 108.3 mph for his fifth home run of the season.

“I liked the first at-bat,” commented Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Jacob, when he’s right, he’s one of the best in baseball. So, yeah, I thought Shohei took a couple good at-bats today.”

Ohtani continued to challenge deGrom, drawing a seven-pitch walk in the third inning and an intentional walk in the fifth. DeGrom himself acknowledged the difficulty of facing Ohtani. “I wanted to face him there, honestly,” deGrom admitted. “He got me on the first at-bat. I walked him on the second at-bat, and then once I fell behind, I was like, ‘Please don’t walk him.’ That’s the goal, you want to compete against the best. He’s a great hitter.”

Finding His Power Stroke at Home

Prior to the Dodgers’ recent homestand, Ohtani hadn’t yet hit for extra bases at Dodger Stadium. However, with back-to-back leadoff home runs, he appears to be rediscovering his formidable power. After launching three home runs on the road last week, Ohtani now leads the Dodgers with five long balls.

Ohtani’s Impressive Stats

• Longest active on-base streak in MLB (46 games)
• Longest active streak of consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run among starting pitchers in MLB (28 2/3 IP) (@EliasSports)

Chasing History

Ohtani has the opportunity to join an exclusive club in Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets. Only three Major Leaguers have hit leadoff home runs in three or more consecutive games in the Modern Era: Brady Anderson (four straight games, 1996), Alex Verdugo (three, 2023), and Ronald Acuña Jr. (three, 2018).

As his on-base streak demonstrates, Ohtani consistently finds ways to impact the game, even when his power hasn’t been fully unleashed. This weekend’s performance suggests he’s rounding into a more complete and dangerous hitter, just two weeks into the season. Official MLB Profile