Shohei Ohtani made more history on Tuesday at PNC Park.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ star hit a solo home run in the third inning of his team’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The blast easily cleared the right-field wall in Pittsburgh, flying an incredible 120 miles per hour off the bat.
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That made it the hardest-hit ball for the Dodgers in the Statcast era and one of the hardest-hit home runs in recorded MLB history.
Only five other home runs in the Statcast era, which started in 2015, have been hit harder. Pirates star Oneil Cruz holds the record at 122.9 mph, which he set earlier this season.
To add to Ohtani’s accolades, the home run came off a 99.2 mph fastball from Bubba Chandler. That makes it the hardest-hit home run off a pitch going at least 99 mph in the Statcast era, breaking New York Yankees star Aaron Judge’s previous record set earlier this season, via MLB’s David Adler.
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The home run was the 46th of the season for Ohtani, who entered the night trailing only Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in the league. It was also the 100th homer of Ohtani’s career with the Dodgers, and he hasn’t even finished his second season with the organization. Ohtani hit 54 home runs last season.
Ohtani was in the lineup as the designated hitter on Tuesday, and he has been working his way back to full strength on the mound. He pitched five innings Wednesday in the team’s 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, which marked his longest outing on the mound since joining the Dodgers. He is scheduled to make his next start in the Dodgers’ matchup with the Pirates on Wednesday.
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Ohtani’s home run in the third inning Tuesday cut the Pirates’ lead to two runs at the time, and Teoscar Hernández followed with an RBI single to bring L.A. within a single run.
The Dodgers entered the contest with a 78-59 record and a narrow lead in the NL West.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
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