Olson maintains MLB home run lead 4 behind 2nd place
Angels lose to Houston, 8-9
Shohei Ohtani, 29, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, activated his home run machine for the second straight game.
Ohtani hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning of the Angels’ 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series game against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Sunday (July 17), starting in the No. 2 spot.
With the Angels trailing 7-9 and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Ohtani pulled a 90 mph (144.8 km/h) fastball from reliever Phil Meyton over the center field fence for a solo arch.
With his second straight game of cannonballs, following his blast against Houston on Aug. 16, Ohtani extended his season home run total to 34 and maintained his MLB lead. Ohtani extended his lead over second-place Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves-30) to four.
He didn’t get a hit in his first at-bat. After hitting a line drive to shortstop in his first at-bat in the first inning and a grounder to second base with the bases loaded in the third, Ohtani flied out to center field in the fifth. In the bottom of the seventh, he stole second base on a high fly ball.
Ohtani finished the game 1-for-4 with a double, a home run, one RBI, and two runs scored, giving him a .301 batting average and a 1.051 on-base percentage (OPS) on the season. Ohtani also leads all of MLB in OPS.
The Angels took a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh on a Zach Neto RBI double and a Taylor Ward RBI single, 고스톱 but the bullpen collapsed and the Angels fell behind 8-9. Ohtani’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth pulled the team to within one run, but it was not enough.