Shohei Ohtani Ends Home Run Drought
Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run of the season on Friday, a three-run blast off of Washington Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas.
Everyone knew it was a matter of time. Freddie Freeman called the Los Angeles Dodgers’ offense “inevitable,” and perhaps no one was more inevitable than two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Sure enough, Ohtani hit his first home run of the season on Friday, a three-run blast off of Washington Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Dodgers had fallen into a 3-0 hole, and with two men on in the third inning, Ohtani took Mikolas’ 84 mph changeup 401 feet to right-center field. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dodgers Nation (@dodgersnation) How Has Shohei Ohtani Played in 2026?
Before Friday, Ohtani had struggled. He was 3-for-18 — a . 167 average — and all three hits were singles.
Admittedly, he had been walked seven times, putting his on-base percentage at a much more respectable . 423 heading into Friday. But he also had struck out five times and failed to knock in a baserunner.