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Shohei Ohtani Makes Los Angeles Dodgers History By Crushing Clutch Home Run

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani blasted a home run and double against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, giving him a record-breaking 67 extra-base hits through 110 games this season.

Sam Connon

Aug 5, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) is congratulated at the dugout by manager Dave Roberts (30) after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium.
Aug 5, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) is congratulated at the dugout by manager Dave Roberts (30) after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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Shohei Ohtani has made a habit of breaking records ever since he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he didn't waver from that tradition on Monday.

The 30-year-old designated hitter played a major part in his team's 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, starting with his game-tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third. He added a double and a stolen base in the fifth, then provided the Dodgers with some much-needed insurance via a leadoff home run in the eighth.

Ohtani is now up to 34 home runs on the season. According to TSN's StatsCentre, that is the fifth-most by a Dodgers player through their first 110 games in a single season.

Beyond that, Ohtani has now recorded 29 doubles in 2024. Adding in his four triples, that gives Ohtani 67 extra-base hits this season, which is tied for the most in the majors.

Per StatsCentre, that is the most extra-base hits in Dodgers history through a player's first 110 games with the franchise.

Ohtani is batting .309 with 34 home runs, 81 RBI, 32 stolen bases, a 1.028 OPS and a 6.1 WAR this season. He leads the National League in home runs, runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, total bases and WAR, all while ranking second in RBI and stolen bases.

As a result, Ohtani has done everything in his power to justify the 10-year, $700 million contract that Los Angeles awarded him last December. No one in league history has ever boasted a pricetag that high, but he has largely found a way to live up to it.

Ohtani, who won AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023, is one of the leading contenders to win NL MVP here in 2024. He has certainly been the Dodgers' most valuable player, outproducing co-stars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in every major category.

Betts has also been on the injured list for the past few weeks, while Freeman only just rejoined the lineup himself, placing a lot of weight on Ohtani's shoulders as of late. Los Angeles is just 0.5 games back of Philadelphia for the best record in the NL, so he has seemingly handled the situation well.

First pitch between the Dodgers and Phillies on Tuesday is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon

SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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