LOS ANGELES -- Congratulations are in order for the Ohtani family, which is now a party of four. Five, if you include Decoy.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko, have announced the arrival of their second child.
“We are again overjoyed to experience this wonderful day in our lives together,” Shohei and Mamiko wrote in a statement posted to Ohtani’s Instagram page. “Thank you for being born safely. We would also like to express our gratitude to everyone who has supported us throughout this journey.”
Shohei and Mamiko welcomed their first child, a daughter, in April 2025. Ohtani was away from the Dodgers during their 6-5 win over the Orioles on Friday after being scratched from the lineup late that afternoon when the team announced his absence. However, he wasn’t placed on the paternity list, and he returned to the lineup a day later on Saturday, leading off at DH against the Orioles.
Ohtani marked his return to the lineup on the eve of Father's Day by providing the offensive spark for Los Angeles in the final frame of Saturday's 3-2 loss to Baltimore.
With the Dodgers down to their final three outs and facing a shutout, Ohtani led off the bottom of the ninth inning by launching a solo home run off Orioles reliever Andrew Kittredge. Ohtani connected on a 94.2 mph sinker, driving it a Statcast-projected 413 feet over the center-field wall to put Los Angeles on the board.
The blast marked Ohtani's 16th home run of the season. And with an exit velocity of 114.6 mph, the solo shot was Ohtani’s 49th career home run at 114+ mph (including playoffs), all of which have come since the start of 2019. That’s 11 more 114+ mph homers than anyone else in MLB in that span.
While the Dodgers ultimately fell short, the late blast gave life to a stadium that had been quieted by Orioles pitching all evening.
"I think it's a big part of it," manager Dave Roberts said postgame, when asked how much Ohtani's home run energized the ninth-inning push. "Kittredge has a good arm, but for [Ohtani] to put us on the board, Andy [Pages] had a good at-bat, [but] [Taylor] Ward makes a great play in left-center. We created something and gave ourselves a chance."