Ohtani celebrates All-Star Game selection with another home run
The Japanese star shined in the Los Angeles Dodgers' win over the Colorado Rockies.
Shohei Ohtani during a game with the Los Angeles Dodgers
(AFP) Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar, connected his 28th home run of the season on Thursday on a day when his selection for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was confirmed.
Ohtani finished atop the National League at the close of the first phase of voting for the All-Star Game, which will be held on July 15 at Atlanta's Truist Park.
The Japanese, who received 3.97 million votes, thus reserved a starting spot in the event, as did American Aaron Judge (4.01 million votes) for the American League.
Judge, leader of the New York Yankees, finished first overall in the MLB for the third time.
Among the players who advanced to the second phase of voting, which will open Monday, are Mexican Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays), Cuban Andy Pagés (Dodgers), Venezuela's Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves) and Gleyber Torres (Tigers); Puerto Ricans Francisco Lindor (Mets) and Javier Báez (Tigers) and Dominicans Juan Soto (Mets), Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks), José Ramírez (Guardians), Manny Machado (Padres) and Teóscar Hernández (Dodgers).
While the first results were made public, the Dodgers won 3-1 at the home field of the Colorado Rockies, completing a sweep in the three-game series.
Ohtani capped the win with a home run in the seventh inning. With this hit, he tied Aaron Judge with 28 home runs on the season, trailing only American Cal Raleigh, of the Seattle Mariners, with 32.
Ohtani focused solely on his batting. His third pitching appearance is scheduled for Saturday against the Kansas City Royals.
In other games, Venezuelan Gleyber Torres contributed a homer and two RBIs to the Detroit Tigers 8-0 thrashing of the Athletics.
The Miami Marlins had another big win, 12-5 against the San Francisco Giants. Dominican Agustin Ramírez contributed a home run and three runs batted in for Miami.
Fellow Dominican Rafael Devers also shined for the Giants with a home run, three hits and two RBIs, in the ninth game since his arrival from the Boston Red Sox.
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