LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reigning MVPs Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani blasted historic home runs in the first inning as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers met Friday night in a rematch of last year’s World Series.
Judge got the fireworks going with a 446-foot solo shot to dead center on a 1-1 pitch from Tony Gonsolin. The Yankees slugger’s 19th homer of the season tied him with Kyle Schwarber for third in the majors.
Ohtani matched him in the bottom of the frame with a 417-foot homer to center on the first pitch from Max Fried in front of a sellout crowd of 53,276.
“I felt like he was copying me,” a smiling Judge said.
It’s the first time reigning MVPs homered in the first inning of a game in major league history. Barry Bonds of San Francisco and Miguel Tejada of Oakland were the first reigning MVPs to homer in the same game, including the World Series, on June 30, 2002.
“I really thought it was important to be able to score another run in that situation, knowing that momentum is really important,” Ohtani said through a translator.
Judge downplayed the tit-for-tat with Ohtani.
“Try not to think about it,” he said. “I got a job to do on the field. I got to make plays, score some runs for the team. You try not to get too hyped into that.”
Ohtani led off the sixth with a solo shot to right-center, scurrying back to step on first base after missing it. That sparked a four-run rally that carried the Dodgers to an 8-5 victory, their 19th come-from-behind win of the season.
The long balls extended Ohtani’s major league-lead to 22. He tied the Dodgers record for most in a month with 15.
“We always seem to obviously play really well when Shohei’s obviously playing well,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I heard the chants for MVP, and he’s really well on his way to doing that again.”
Ohtani has 60 runs this season, making him the first player since 1901 to reach the mark before June, according to OptaSTATS.
The Japanese superstar has hit five homers in his last five games, with four coming on the first or second pitch.
Judge is most impressed by Ohtani’s consistency at the plate.
“Year after year continue to go up there and put up the numbers he does,” he said. “Every single at-bat, you don’t know if he’s going to rip a ball to me in right field or if he’s going to take a Max Fried first pitch heater opposite field.”
The Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games to win their eighth world championship in 2024.
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