Fastball

New York Yankees Position Player Does Something That Only Shohei Ohtani Has Done This Year

By pitching a scoreless ninth inning and hitting a home run, Yankees position player Isiah Kiner-Falefa joined Los Angeles star Shohei Ohtani in a pretty cool club.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees Position Player Does Something That Only Shohei Ohtani Has Done This Year
New York Yankees Position Player Does Something That Only Shohei Ohtani Has Done This Year /
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A throwaway game and a blowout loss turned into some fun on Friday for New York Yankees player Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 10-2, but it was 10-0 in the top of the ninth inning. As a result, the Yankees called on Kiner-Falefa to pitch the ninth inning in order to preserve the bullpen. 

Now, we already told you that that appearance made Yankees history, but Kiner-Falefa also went onto do something that only Los Angeles star Shohei Ohtani has done this year.

He hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to become the second player this season to hit a home run and record a pitching strikeout in the same game.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

homered & struck out at least 1 batter in same game, 2023: 

Today Isiah Kiner-Falefa 

6/15 Shohei Ohtani 

6/9 Shohei Ohtani 

5/15 Shohei Ohtani

Any time you can join Ohtani in anything, it's a good day, and it's also nice that Kiner-Falefa did this because it made a dreary Yankees game interesting at the end.

He didn't even start this game, entering as a replacement for Josh Donaldson. He went 1-1 and is now hitting .237.

Kiner-Falefa is in his second season with the Yankees after being traded to New York before the 2022 season. He is hitting .232 with three homers and 15 RBI this season. He's added eight steals.

He spent the first four years of his career with the Texas Rangers and is a lifetime .262 hitter.

The Yankees will start a new series on Friday with the Rangers.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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