DENVER (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hit his 54th homer of the season on Friday night against Colorado after earlier stealing base No. 57 to pass Ichiro Suzuki for the most in a single season by a Japanese-born player.
Ohtani launched a towering three-run blast into the second deck at Coors Field in the sixth inning on a changeup from Colorado Rockies reliever Anthony Molina. Ohtani has a National League-leading 54 homers as he chases a possible Triple Crown. He entered the night with a .305 average, which trailed Luis Arráez (.312) and Marcell Ozuna (.310).
In the second inning, Ohtani stole second to eclipse Suzuki's mark set in 2001 with Seattle. Suzuki played for the Mariners, the New York Yankees, Miami and then briefly returned to Seattle over a career that spanned parts of 19 seasons.
Ohtani has now successfully stolen 34 straight bases without getting caught. It's the second-longest streak in franchise history, trailing only Davey Lopes' 38 in a row in 1975.
Ohtani is 57 of 61 on stolen-base attempts the season.
In addition, Ohtani is second in franchise history with 406 total bases. Babe Herman set the record of 416 in 1930.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Pat Graham, The Associated Press
