Ohtani goes with flow after clubbing 437-foot homer
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ARLINGTON -- Shohei Ohtani mashed his American League-leading 42nd home run of the season in the Angels' 2-0 win over the Rangers in the series finale on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field.
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Ohtani nearly swung out of his shoes on the power stroke, as he lost his helmet on the Statcast-projected 437-foot homer, and he completed it with a helmetless trot around the diamond.
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Ohtani’s homer came in the first inning off Rangers right-hander Jon Gray, as the 2021 AL MVP rocketed a 1-1 fastball into the visitor’s bullpen in center. Ohtani led off the third with a single in his next at-bat and finished 3-for-4 with one run scored.
Gray's pitch was up and out of the zone, but Ohtani, who is four homers shy of matching his career high, tagged it.
“That one pitch to Ohtani, I thought I got it where I wanted, but he's a different kind of player,” Gray said.
The mammoth home run was Ohtani’s fifth against the Rangers this season and the two-way superstar now trails Braves slugger Matt Olson (43) by one for the Major League lead.