Shohei Ohtani slugs shorthanded Angels to big series win with 1,700+ feet of homers

Rowan Kavner

MLB Writer

Entering this week, no left-handed batter this season had hit a ball more than 440 feet either straightaway or to the opposite field at Globe Life Field

By the time the Angels left Texas on Thursday night with their third straight series win, Shohei Ohtani had accomplished the feat three times.

Ohtani blasted four homers in the series, all hit the other way, to bring his home run total for the year to 22, moving into a tie with Pete Alonso for the most in the majors. After demolishing 46 home runs in 2021 and 34 last season, Ohtani is powering away at a career-best rate in 2023, leading the majors with a .620 slugging percentage.

The last of his four home runs in Texas occurred in the eighth inning Thursday on a 443-foot, two-run blast that put the series away against the division leaders. The 5-3 win made the American League West race more interesting while also moving the Angels one game back of the Astros and Yankees for a Wild-Card spot.

Shohei Ohtani powers a two-run blast 443 feet for his 22nd homer of the season

Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani powered a two-run blast 443 feet for his 22nd homer of the season, tying the MLB lead.

Ohtani’s homer — which reached the opposite-field upper deck for the third time in the series before careening back onto the field — was a tremendous feat of strength in itself. The fact that it came after delivering a quality start against one of the toughest lineups in baseball made the physical display even more mesmerizing.

He picked up his first win of the month in the process, gutting through a 30-pitch first inning that left him frustrated as he walked off the mound, slamming his glove against his leg. Two innings later, the Rangers jumped ahead with back-to-back doubles by Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis Garcia.

“He got tired a little bit,” manager Phil Nevin told reporters afterward. “When he labors through an inning, it’s usually when he’s been on base before. You saw that today.”

As steady as Ohtani has been with the bat during a hitting streak that extended to 12 games on Thursday, his performance on the mound hasn’t been quite so consistent. He’s striking out batters at a career-best rate and allowing fewer hits per nine innings than any pitcher in the majors, though his command has wavered, as evidenced by the highest walk rate in his career. That has sometimes cut his performances short, including his previous start against Seattle, when he issued five free passes and hit a batter.

Thursday looked headed for a similar fate, but Ohtani buckled down, holding the Rangers to just the two runs over six innings and outdueling Nathan Eovaldi in a battle of potential Cy Young Award winners.

The strength demonstrated by the two-way superstar might’ve seemed impossible if he hadn’t put on the same display all week.

In the first game of the series, Ohtani hit home runs of 388 feet and 459 feet the other way. On Wednesday, Ohtani pulverized a homer 116.1 mph off the bat, out 453 feet to left-center field. His final power display in the eighth inning Thursday night was all the more important considering the hits the Angels’ lineup withstood.

Already missing Brandon Drury due to a suspension and Zach Neto to injury, the Angels saw both Gio Urshela and Anthony Rendon get hurt in the first inning Thursday. Urshela tripped over first base while running down the line, while Rendon was hit by a pitch in his left wrist.

Urshela left the game, while Rendon tried to gut it out. It was clear, however, that Rendon was in pain, unable to swing the bat in the sixth inning as he bunted foul with two strikes. Rendon told Nevin that he could still play third base, though he’s going to need imaging on his wrist.

“Where we were at, tie or ahead, I was going to leave him in there,” Nevin said. “I found out he can’t bunt, so I won’t be calling on that any time soon.

Ultimately, the Angels persevered through the pain. The Rangers ended up shorthanded, too, though not because of injury.

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After both starting pitchers had left the game, first-base umpire Ramon De Jesus looked like he was getting warm before the eighth inning while making back-to-back-to-back ejections of Marcus Semien, pitching coach Mike Maddux and manager Bruce Bochy. They all voiced their displeasure after De Jesus ruled that Semien failed to check his swing on a full-count pitch below the zone the previous inning.

It was that same inning that Ohtani put the finishing touches on the Angels win, moving them to a season-high seven games over .500. They’re now 14-6 in games in which Ohtani has homered this season.

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.