ANAHEIM — Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani’s immense power was on full display in the Halos’ 8-1 win over the Royals on Tuesday at Angel Stadium, as he absolutely hammered a two-run shot off lefty Kris Bubic in the first inning that went a projected 470 feet to right-center field, per Statcast.
Ohtani jumped all over a 2-2 changeup from Bubic for the longest homer of his career, surpassing his previous record of 451 feet set on April 4 off White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease. It was also the fifth-longest homer by an Angels player since Statcast was introduced in 2015 behind four Mike Trout blasts. Trout has hit homers a projected 486 feet (Sept. 5, 2019), 477 feet (July 8, 2015), 473 feet (May 18, 2019) and 471 feet (July 12, 2019).
It was also the 17th homer of the season for Ohtani and had an exit velocity of 111.7 mph. He moved into a tie for second in the Majors in homers behind Ronald Acuña Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who both have 18. Of his 16 blasts, four have gone at least 440 feet, which is tied for second in the Majors behind Fernando Tatis Jr.’s five.
It was another incredible feat for Ohtani, who is also set to make his ninth start on the mound on Friday against the D-backs in Arizona. With National League rules in place, he’ll hit for himself on Friday, though he will be relegated to pinch-hitting duties on Saturday and Sunday, as the Angels aren’t comfortable with him playing a full game in the outfield just yet.
Ohtani also doubled and walked, going 2-for-3; he is batting .261/.346/.606 with 44 RBIs and 40 runs in 56 games. His double in the third was hit even harder than his homer, as it left the bat at 112.6 mph. He became the second Angels player to have at least two extra-base hits with an exit velocity of 111 mph in a game, joining Chris Iannetta, who did it on May 18, 2015.
His homer also sparked the offense, as Max Stassi, Justin Upton, José Iglesias and Taylor Ward each went deep. Stassi smacked his third homer over his last four games with a two-run shot in the third, while Iglesias and Upton both left the yard in the fourth. It was Iglesias’ fifth of the year and Upton’s 14th, including his fifth in 13 games as the leadoff hitter. Ward capped the power display with a two-run moonshot off Josh Staumont in the eighth.
