In a decisive moment of the MLB season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have lost 11 of their last 15 games, although they still have a good lead over San Diego and San Francisco in the National League West. The curious thing is that the losing streak has not dimmed the light of Shohei Ohtani, who continues to produce at full speed
The Japanese has been almost the only good news for the Dodgers in recent weeks. With the countless problems with their pitching, the permanent slump of stars such as Mookie Betts and the plague of injuries that is hitting the team, Ohtani has managed to give some hope to the fans with his performance on the diamond, both pitching and hitting
With the bat, the Japanese has shown his power by hitting home runs in five consecutive games. With this record, he equaled the Dodgers’ record and also continued to improve his personal best. Never before had Ohtani put together a streak like this, in fact, his longest streak was three games with at least one home run
The star left-handed slugger tied the Dodgers’ record set by Roy Campanella between June 11 and 17, 1950, when the franchise was still playing in Brooklyn. After the legendary catcher, only six players (including Ohtani) have managed to equal the mark:
- Max Muncy (August 15-21, 2019)
- Joc Pederson (May 31-June 3, 2015)
- Adrian Gonzalez (September 27, 2014-April 8, 2015)
- Matt Kemp (September 28-October 3, 2010)
- Shawn Green (July 21-25, 2001)
The batters with the most consecutive games (eight) hitting at least one home run are Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners), Don Mattingly (Yankees) and Dale Long (Pirates), who achieved their respective streaks in the last century. Coincidentally, all three are left-handed and, incredibly, among the six who came closest to the mark are three other left-handed hitters (Joey Votto-Cincinnati, Barry Bonds-Giants and Jim Thome-Cleveland) and a switch hitter (Kendrys Morales-Toronto)
Ohtani is on the trail of these sluggers and could extend his streak in the next game, when he faces the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. At that venue, always in his time with the Angels, the Japanese slugger produced really well, with a offensive line of .310/.344/.466/.810, two home runs, five extra-base hits, nine RBIs, the same number of runs scored and 18 hits
However, in his last seven visits to Boston’s home ground he has not been able to hit the ball beyond the limits. In total, he has gone 32 consecutive appearances without a home run at Fenway Park, where the memory of his last home run still lingers, as it was in the ninth to erase a Red Sox lead and give the Angels victory against all odds
Ohtani will face Brayan Bello on Friday, a pitcher he has hit well (four hits in eight official at-bats), although he has not been able to hit the ball out of the park. So, it will be a double challenge for the Japanese, who will try to end his streak of games without home runs at Fenway and add Bello to his list of pitchers to whom he has hit a home run, which currently has 211 names.
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