Shohei Ohtani Makes MLB History With Record-Breaking Leadoff Home Run

Daniel Kim 2026.05.22 Views

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[MyDaily = Reporter Shim Hye-jin] Shohei Ohtani put on a one-man show for the LA Dodgers, dominating on both the mound and at the plate and drawing widespread praise.

On the 21st (Korean time), Ohtani took the ball as the Dodgers’ No. 1 starter in a road game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego, California, during the 2026 Major League season.

On the mound he worked five innings, allowing three hits, issuing two walks, striking out four and yielding no runs to pick up his fourth win of the season. His ERA dropped to 0.73.

At the plate he went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, one RBI, one walk, one strikeout and two runs scored. His batting average on the season rose to .272.

Ohtani made history from his very first plate appearance. Leading off the first inning, he launched a leadoff home run, immediately providing his own run support.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, there have been only three instances since 1900 in which a starting pitcher batted in the No. 1 spot. This game marked the first time in a regular-season contest that a starting pitcher led off the game and hit a leadoff home run — a new milestone in Major League history.

There had been a similar feat in the postseason — also by Ohtani. In Game 4 of last year’s National League Championship Series against Milwaukee, Ohtani hit three home runs as a starter, including a leadoff homer.

With the Dodgers up 2-0 in the second inning, Ohtani popped out to center with one out and runners on first and second. He later led off the fourth with a walk and eventually scored on Kyle Tucker’s RBI single.

He was equally sharp on the mound. After retiring the side in order through the first three innings, Ohtani ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing a hit and a walk to create a one-out, runners-on-first-and-second jam — but he escaped by getting the next hitters to retreat into outs.

The fifth inning was his biggest test. Consecutive hits and a walk loaded the bases with one out, but Ohtani erased the threat on one pitch by inducing Fernando Tatis Jr. into a double play. A 6-4-3 twin-killing — Mookie Betts to Kim Hye-seong to Freddie Freeman — ended the inning, and Ohtani celebrated the big defensive out.

Ohtani was lifted in the sixth inning for Edgard Enriquez.

Praise poured in after the game.

MLB.com noted that Ohtani returned to a two-way role for the first time since April 23. After appearing exclusively as a pitcher in his previous three outings, he helped lead the Dodgers to a 4-0 win and accounted for two of the team’s three victories in the series.

MLB.com added that by throwing five scoreless innings, Ohtani lowered his ERA to 0.73 — the lowest mark among Major League pitchers with at least 25 innings pitched. Including the postseason, this was the seventh instance in which a starting pitcher tossed a scoreless start and hit a home run; that total surpasses Bob Gibson’s six such games since 1900, putting Ohtani alone atop the list.

The site also reported that in the live-ball era (since 1920), Ohtani’s ERA over his team’s first eight starts ranks sixth-lowest among starters. Only Fernando Valenzuela (0.50 in 1981), Mike Norris (0.52 in 1980), Zack Greinke (0.60 in 2009), Al Benton (0.70 in 1954) and Jacob deGrom (0.71 in 2021) posted better marks through eight starts.

On the leadoff homer, MLB.com pointed out that the blast to open the game was only the second leadoff home run by a pitcher in Major League history — the first was also hit by Ohtani in Game 4 of last year’s NLCS. It was his eighth homer of the season and just his second hit in 14 at-bats in games in which he has pitched this year, a sign that his hitting slump may finally be over.

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