LOS ANGELES - Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani hit the 300th home run of his Major League Baseball career, reaching the mark at the fifth-fastest pace in history, as the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Tuesday.
Ohtani launched a 409-foot (125-meter) blast to center field off a 2-0 pitch from Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the first inning to register home runs in back-to-back games at Dodger Stadium.
The milestone shot was his 20th home run of the season and his seventh leadoff homer of the year. Batting as the designated hitter, the left-handed slugger went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
Ohtani became the 170th player in MLB, and the first from Japan, to join the 300-homer club, accomplishing the feat in his ninth season.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hailed Ohtani's achievement, telling reporters after the game, "I just marvel at him every day. Three hundred is a big number."
The 32-year-old hit his 299th home run in the Dodgers' 8-7 walk-off win over the Rockies on Monday.
Ohtani notched 300 home runs quicker than all but four players, according to MLB.com, taking 1,101 games with at least one plate appearance. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge took the fewest games at 953.
Roberts said he expected bigger milestones from Ohtani in the future.
"He just had a birthday...still young, still strong, so I definitely think 500 is in his future," the skipper said.
Ohtani led the American League with 44 homers for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. He topped the National League with 54 the following year, becoming the first MLB player with 50 homers and 50 steals in the same season.
The four-time MVP also marked a career-high 55 homers last year and has now reached the 20-homer threshold for six consecutive seasons.
Returning to full two-way play this season following his recovery from elbow surgery, Ohtani has posted an 8-2 record with a 1.79 ERA on the mound so far.
In Japan, Ohtani hit a total of 48 home runs for the Nippon Ham Fighters between 2013 and 2017.
On the all-time home run list for Japanese major leaguers, Hideki Matsui ranks second with 175, followed by Ichiro Suzuki with 117.
