Shohei Ohtani hit his 46th home run of the season to tie his career high, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-0 on Sunday in record-tying heat. With the first-pitch temperature of 103 degrees matching the hottest in Dodger Stadium history, Ohtani hit a 450-foot solo shot down the right-field line off Tanner Bibee in the fifth inning that was reviewed to see if it was fair.
Ohtani has 22 450-foot home runs for his career, all coming since 2021. That’s five more than any other player over that span. Ohtani also hit 46 home runs in 2021 for the Los Angeles Angels in his unanimous AL MVP season. The Japanese star has 46 stolen bases in a bid to become the first major league player with a 50-50 season.
“I’m trying to be less cognizant of it and moreso just focusing on having good feel at the plate and whenever possible during the game, whether that be stealing bases or moving to the next base, that’s what I’m trying to do,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. He’s also one home run shy of tying Cody Bellinger in 2019 for the third-most homers in a season in Dodgers history. Ohtani finished the day 2-for-4. He was picked off first base in the third inning.
As far as the scorching temperature, it also was 103 for the first pitch of Game 1 of the 2017 World Series against Houston. On Sunday, the Dodgers made a voucher available to all fans for a free bottle of water. Jack Flaherty went 7⅓ innings, striking out six and allowing four hits. The Southern California native is 5-1 since coming over in a trade with Detroit. He said he was under the weather last week, too. “It was fun when you get different elements like that, either really cold or really hot,” Flaherty said. “It was just another challenge. It was fun. You need a little preparation before that. Make sure everything is moving and hydrated. Pretty sure everyone else was hotter than I was out there.”
In Dodgers injury news, pitcher Gavin Stone (right shoulder inflammation) will not throw for 10 days and then build back up and see where he’s at, according to manager Dave Roberts. His status for the postseason is certainly in question with 19 games remaining. Max Muncy homered for the Dodgers in the eighth, his 12th of an injury-shortened season.