LOS ANGELES -- Coming out of the All-Star break, all Shohei Ohtani has done is hit dingers.
Ohtani tied the Dodgers' franchise record by homering in his fifth straight game on Wednesday afternoon, taking Twins starter Chris Paddack deep for a solo shot in the first inning. The last Major Leaguer to go deep in five straight was Aaron Judge from Sept. 21-26, 2024.
But the Dodgers have won just two of five games during Ohtani's power surge. They went down to their final out in Wednesday's rubber game to walk off the Twins, 4-3, on a two-run single from Freddie Freeman. Tyler Glasnow struck out a season-high 12 across seven innings of one-run ball before the bullpen relinquished the lead in the eighth, but Freeman sent everybody home happy.
"That was a huge win for us," Freeman said. "Huge series win."
Ohtani became the seventh Dodger to homer in five in a row, joining:
- Max Muncy, 2019
- Joc Pederson, 2015
- Adrián González, 2014-15
- Matt Kemp, 2010
- Shawn Green, 2001
- Roy Campanella, 1950
The Major League record for consecutive games with a home run is eight, set by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993). Could Ohtani keep the momentum going when the Dodgers head to Boston this weekend and join that trio?
"I don't know that answer," manager Dave Roberts said. "I do know that if he has the same approach that he's had the last week, that Green Monster is very short. So any fly ball that he hits will be a homer. So he's just got to continue to have that same approach when we go to Boston, and then we'll see what happens."
Before Tuesday night, Ohtani had 11 streaks of three straight games with a home run in his career, but he had yet to make it four in a row. He set his personal best with a two-run blast off Twins closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth inning -- the first home run Duran had allowed in more than a year -- before extending it on Wednesday afternoon.
After going 0-for-4 in Friday's second-half opener, Ohtani has homered in every game since -- including Monday, when he became the first pitcher in more than 45 years to give up and hit a home run in the first inning of the same game.
With his 37th homer of the season, Ohtani took the National League lead back from a surging Eugenio Suárez. Only the Mariners' Cal Raleigh (39) has outhomered Ohtani.
Before the home run streak began, Ohtani's production had taken a dip following his return to pitching on June 16. He hit .200 in 26 games between then and Friday, although he still hit seven homers and posted an .813 OPS in that span.
The Dodgers have not been concerned about Ohtani's step back at the plate, especially as he continues to adjust to being a two-way player once more. He has done this before, and he's done it at an elite level, winning two MVP Awards while balancing full-time designated hitter and starting pitcher duties in 2021 and '23.
Even when he's not as complete a hitter as he's capable of being, Ohtani's presence tends to make things happen. That was the case during Wednesday's two-out ninth-inning rally against Twins reliever Griffin Jax.
The sequence began with Mookie Betts legging out an infield single. The Twins opted to intentionally walk Ohtani, putting the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on first.
"It was the right decision," Roberts said. "Just didn't work out."
Esteury Ruiz worked a walk to load the bases for Freeman, who got a 1-2 four-seamer down the middle and drove it the other way to win it. Freeman has been open about his swing not feeling right for quite some time, and he feels that he's moving in the right direction.
"It's a work in progress," Freeman said. "But that last one was a lot better. I haven't hit a line drive to left field in a long time. So hopefully we can build on that going into Friday."
The upcoming road trip through Boston, Cincinnati and Tampa is the Dodgers' longest of the second half. There's a chance, Roberts said, that the team will be without Betts on Friday as he attends to a personal matter.
"There might be some things going on that he might not be around, that he's got to deal with personally," Roberts said. "Everything is OK with him, but yeah, we'll see."