Ohtani, Duran, Skenes and more punctuate start of 2nd half

Here’s our weekly look at 10 mind-blowing notes from the last week in baseball (July 19-25).

Shotime: Shohei Ohtani crushed a 473-foot home run on Sunday Night Baseball that left everyone in awe. It was the second-longest home run at Dodger Stadium under Statcast (2015), behind only a 475-foot home run from Giancarlo Stanton on May 12, 2015. Dodger Stadium has had 15 home runs of 450-plus feet under Statcast, the second-fewest of any current MLB park in that span (Petco, 12). Ohtani is the only player with multiple of those and he has five, all this season.

ASG MVP keeps going: Jarren Duran notched his 30th double of the season on Sunday, to join his 10 triples and 22 stolen bases through his 98th game. That marked the second-fewest games played to reach 10 triples, 30 doubles and 20 stolen bases in a season in the live-ball era (1920). The only player to get there faster was Max Carey in 88 games ... way back in 1925.

Skenes Day: Through his 12th MLB start on Tuesday, Paul Skenes has 97 strikeouts and just 16 runs and 13 walks allowed. He’s the second pitcher with at least 80 strikeouts and fewer than 15 walks in his first 12 career appearances since at least 1901. He joins Masahiro Tanaka (2014), who had 92 strikeouts and 13 walks. Skenes’ 16 runs allowed are the fewest of the 14 pitchers with at least 80 strikeouts in their first 12 career appearances (since at least 1901), and again, he has 97 strikeouts.

What a stretch: Giants rookie Tyler Fitzgerald authored a five-game home run streak before it was snapped on Wednesday. That tied the longest such streak by any rookie since at least 1900 and set a Giants franchise record for a rookie. He became the eighth Giants player since at least 1900 with a home run streak of at least five games, joining Barry Bonds (four streaks, last: 2004), Robby Thompson (1993), Jack Clark (1978), Willie Mays (five streaks, last: 1966), Walker Cooper (1947), Mel Ott (1932) and George Kelly (1924).

The Generational: Juan Soto played his 100th game with the Yankees on Wednesday and has a .311 batting average, 50 extra-base hits (including 26 home runs) and 82 walks. He is the second player with a .300 batting average, 45 extra-base hits and 80 walks in his first 100 games with a team. The only other player to do so was Babe Ruth in 1920, also with the Yankees.

OMG: Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso each hit their 20th home runs of the season on Wednesday in the Mets’ 101st game. It’s the sixth time the Mets have had multiple players with at least 20 home runs through 101 team games in a season. The duo joins Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto (2017); Carlos Beltrán, Carlos Delgado and David Wright (2006); Todd Hundley and Bernard Gilkey (1996); and Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson in both 1987 and 1989.

Bobby baseball: On Monday, Bobby Witt Jr. became the first player to record at least three hits in each of his first four games following the All-Star break, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Through Wednesday, he was up to 16 hits in six games since the All-Star break. That’s tied with Aaron Rowand (2007) and Randy Velarde (1992) for second-most, behind only Wally Berger’s 18 hits in his first six after the break in 1938.

Welcome back: 2021 AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray made his season debut and first start for the Giants on Wednesday. He went five hitless innings against the rival Dodgers. Ray’s five innings is the longest no-hit bid by a Giants starter in his team debut in the expansion era (1961). It’s the longest in a Giants debut since Juan Marichal in his MLB debut -- 7 2/3 hitless on July 19, 1960, en route to a one-hit shutout, according to Elias.

The fastest man alive: Through 199 career games, Elly De La Cruz has 86 stolen bases, 81 extra-base hits and 83 walks. He’s the only player since 1900 with 80 stolen bases, 80 extra-base hits and 80 walks over his first 200 career MLB games, per Elias.

Current Ironman: Matt Olson has played 559 consecutive games entering Friday, dating to May 2, 2021. There have been only six other streaks of at least 500 since 2000, per Elias. They belong to 2000-07 Miguel Tejada (1,152 consecutive games), 2018-22 Whit Merrifield (553), 2010-14 Prince Fielder (547), 2000-03 Alex Rodriguez (546), 2003-06 Hideki Matsui (518) and 2004-07 Mark Teixeira (507).