Shohei Ohtani made up for lost time on Saturday night, launching two home runs – including the 250th of his career – in the Dodgers’ 11-5 win over the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
It was a big night for both Ohtani and veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who threw seven scoreless innings to help L.A. regain sole control of first place in the NL West.
The second of Ohtani’s homers was his 25th of the season and tied Brady Anderson (1996) for the most homers out of the leadoff spot through a team’s first 71 games. He also matched Gary Sheffield (2000) for the most homers in Dodgers history at this stage.
Ohtani achieved all this after going 10 games without a home run.
“It did feel like I haven’t hit a homer in a while,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “In terms of the context of the two homers, I felt that the first was more significant just being able to score early in the game.”
That first homer came in the opening inning – a 419-foot shot to right field off Giants starter Landen Roupp. The Dodgers tagged Roupp for five runs before knocking him out in the second inning.
The 250th blast came in the sixth, when Ohtani reached for a curveball from Tristan Beck and sent it into the seats. He now leads the National League in home runs and trails only Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh in all of MLB.
He also became the fastest player in Major League history to reach 250 home runs and 150 steals – doing so in just 928 games, breaking Alex Rodriguez’s previous mark of 977.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said: “I think it seemed like a while. I think that there was a lot of chase down below in the last 10 days. Tonight, he got the ball, used the big part of the field and put some good swings together. … When he goes, it makes life a lot easier for all of us.”
Ohtani is also nearing a return to pitching. Instead of Minor League rehab starts, he’s been building up through simulated games. On Tuesday in San Diego, he threw three innings and 44 pitches.
“I do feel like just being the two-way player I used to be is the norm,” Ohtani said. “Last year was the abnormal year for me, and it’s about getting back to what I used to do.”
There’s now a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could start on the mound before the All-Star break, according to Roberts. For now, Ohtani says he feels good: “The intensity was there… stuff was game-ready.”
With his bat heating up and his return to the mound approaching, Ohtani looks ready to return to full two-way dominance.
Shohei Ohtani’s SECOND homer of the night! pic.twitter.com/vgaf9GhSoC
— MLB (@MLB) June 15, 2025
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
