LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani scored his 300th career hit Tuesday night, hitting Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen, making him the first Japanese-born player in the majors to reach that milestone.
The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar hit a 409-foot blast down the line to center on a 2-0 pitch for his 20th homer of the season. Center fielder Cole Carrigg could only watch as he was thrown out.
“That was a real homer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “From the start he was running 119 (mph exit speed), starting low, squared off, coming out in a hurry. I’m just amazed by him every day. Three hundred is a big number.”
Ohtani is the fifth fastest in history to reach 300 and the 170th member of the club. Between stints with the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers, it took him 1,102 games; New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was the fastest in 955 games.
It was the 31st goal of Ohtani’s career and seventh this season. He also homered in the Dodgers’ 8-7 win in 11 innings Monday night, highlighting a 3-for-4 performance.
Roberts believes there are many more homers within reach of Ohtani, who turned 32 last Sunday.
“He’s just had his birthday, he’s still young, still going strong, so I definitely think the 500th anniversary is in his future,” the manager said.
Teammate Freddie Freeman bowed as Ohtani returned to the dugout.