Shohei Ohtani couldn\u2019t join the Home Run Derby fun this week, but he didn\u2019t leave Texas without making a splash. During the third inning of MLB\u2019s 94th All-Star Game at Globe Life Field, Ohtani thrilled the crowd of 39,343 by launching a jaw-dropping, 400-foot homer halfway up the right-field stands. His epic blast contributed to the American League\u2019s 5-3 victory over the National League.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, it\u2019s normal for him,\u201d said teammate Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez with a grin. \u201cIt\u2019s Shohei being Shohei.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was there ever a doubt that Shohei Ohtani, the $700 million superstar, would make an impact in the All-Star Game?<\/p>\n
In just two at-bats, Ohtani smashed a Tanner Houck splitter 400 feet into the right-field bleachers at Globe Life Park for a three-run homer, thrilling the crowd. \u201cI haven\u2019t really hit well during the All-Star Game,\u201d Ohtani admitted through an interpreter, noting his previous 1-for-4 record in Midsummer Classics. \u201cI was just relieved that I put a ball in play.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his fourth All-Star appearance, Ohtani\u2019s performance shone. After a first-inning walk, he blasted a hanging Houck splitter in the third inning for a 2-0 lead, becoming the first Dodger to homer in the event since Mike Piazza in 1996.<\/p>\n
However, not everything went perfectly for Ohtani. His National League team lost 5-3, potentially costing him the MVP, and his final at-bat against A\u2019s closer Mason Miller saw him miss a 100.6 mph and a 101.8 mph fastball, followed by a hard slider.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the American League continued their dominance with a 5-3 victory, marking their tenth win in the last eleven All-Star Games. Speedy Jarren Duran made a splash in his All-Star debut, hitting a tiebreaking two-run homer and winning the MVP trophy named after Red Sox legend Ted Williams.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes threw a hitless first inning for the NL, hitting 100 mph twice. Ohtani\u2019s third-inning blast gave the NL a 3-0 lead, but it wasn\u2019t enough. Oakland\u2019s Mason Miller, throwing a record-breaking 103.6 mph fastball, secured the win, and Cleveland\u2019s closer Emmanuel Clase sealed the game with two strikeouts in the ninth.<\/p>\n
Skenes, just 22 and with only 11 major league games under his belt since being drafted first overall last July, became the first rookie starter since 1995 and the least experienced player to make an All-Star squad. He threw a hitless first inning, walking Soto with two outs before Yankees\u2019 Aaron Judge grounded into a forceout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shohei Ohtani couldn\u2019t join the Home Run Derby fun this week, but he didn\u2019t leave Texas without making a splash\u2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":23991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[2818],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-sports","tag-mlb"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}