Rising to the occasion, Shohei Ohtani hits 2-run HR in return to Japan against Yomiuri Giants

Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.

In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time MVP belted a two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.

“He always seems to rise to certain occasions, expectation to put on a performance,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Once again, he delivered.”

Ohtani led off the game with a walk and came to bat for a second time in the third inning. He didn’t get his best swing on the ball, but the 6-foot-4, 210-pound slugger was still able to launch a slider from Yomiuri’s Shosei Togo 391 feet, which was plenty of distance to get it over the fence.

The 30-year-old is just 4 1/2 months removed from surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder but has recovered remarkably fast. His big swing at the Tokyo Dome is another sign that he’s feeling good heading into his eighth big league season, his second with the Dodgers.

“I was a bit out front on it, but it went out at a good angle and I thought it was going to be a home run,” Ohtani said, through a translation.

The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage. Conforto said it was great to go deep in his first at-bat, but the conversation quickly switched to Ohtani.

“It’s really amazing,” Conforto said. “In every big moment, he seems to just do what the fans want him to do.”

Los Angeles beat Yomiuri 5-1.

The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In 2024, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb