Shohei Ohtani made more history on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star hit a solo home run in the third inning of their matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. The shot easily cleared the right field wall in Pittsburgh, and went an incredible 120 miles per hour off the bat.
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That made it the hardest-hit ball in Dodgers history in the Statcast era, and one of the hardest-hit home runs in MLB history in general.
Only five other home runs in the Statcast era, which started in 2015, have been hit harder. Pirates star Oneil Cruz holds the record at 122.9 mph, which he set earlier this season.
To add to Ohtani’s accolades, the home run came off a 99.2 mph fastball from Bubba Chandler. That’s the hardest-hit home run off a pitch going at least 99 mph in the Statcast era, breaking New York Yankees star Aaron Judge’s previous record set earlier this season, via MLB’s David Adler.
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The home run was the 46th of the season for Ohtani, who entered the night trailing only Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in the league. It was also the 100th of Ohtani’s career with the Dodgers, and he’s not even finished with his second season with the organization yet. Ohtani had 54 last season alone.
Ohtani was in the lineup as the designated hitter on Tuesday night, though he’s been working his way back to full strength on the mound after several surgeries in recent years. He pitched five innings in the team’s 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 27, which marked his longest run on the mound since joining the Dodgers. He is scheduled to make his next start in the Dodgers’ matchup with the Pirates on Wednesday night.
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Ohtani’s home run in the third on Tuesday cut the Pirates’ lead back down to just two runs, and Teoscar Hernández followed it up with an RBI single to bring them back within a single run. The Dodgers entered the contest with a 78-59 record and a narrow lead in the NL West race.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.