Ohtani hits 20 home runs in Dodgers' win against Guardians

(AFP) Japanese star Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday became the first player to reach 20 homers in the 2025 Major League Baseball season on Tuesday, hitting one in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 9-5 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

Ohtani, 30, currently leads the season in home runs with 20, ahead of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who has 18. He is also just five home runs shy of reaching 250 career homers in the majors.

Since his arrival in the majors, Ohtani has hit at least 20 home runs in six of his eight seasons—except in 2019, when he finished with 18, and in the shortened 2020 season, when he played just 46 games and hit seven homers.

With tonight’s win at Progressive Field, home of the Guardians, the Dodgers improved their record to 34-21, maintaining first place in the National League West division.

In another game of the day, Dominican Jhoan Duran recorded his ninth save of the season as the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2.

Duran, 27, has allowed just one run over his last 15 appearances, pitching a total of 15 innings.

A powerful debut came from Dominican Wenceel Perez, who hit a home run to right field in his first at-bat of the season, helping the Detroit Tigers secure a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Perez, 25, was activated earlier this afternoon after being released from the 60-day injured list.

The Tigers hold the best record in the American League with 36 wins and 20 losses.

Judge keeps the streak going

On the other hand, Venezuelan Ranger Suarez (4-0) pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves.

It’s the fourth win of the season for the Pie de Cuesta native, who has made 98 starts in Major League Baseball.

Dominican Jeremy Peña hit his seventh home run of the season as the Houston Astros cruised to an 11-1 victory against the Athletics.

Houston adds its third straight win and fourth in the last five games.

The Milwaukee Brewers evened their record at 28-28 with a 5-1 extra-innings victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Outfielder Christian Yelich drove in four runs on two hits, including his 10th home run of the season.

The New York Yankees edged out the Los Angeles Angels 3-2, thanks to a solo home run by Venezuela’s Oswald Pedraza.

Aaron Judge hit a home run in four at-bats and extended his hitting streak to five consecutive games.

The six-time MLB All-Star Game selection leads the majors with a .395 batting average.

The Bronx Bombers opened up a seven-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East division.