Even in a season where he doesn't have his usual two-way excellence, Shohei Ohtani continues to reset the bar for himself. On Wednesday night against the Cubs, the Dodgers star hit home run No. 47 on the season, setting a new career high.
The latest Ohtani homer came on the first at-bat of the game for the Dodgers, leading off the bottom of the first with a bang as the Dodgers try to avoid the sweep at home against the Cubs. Los Angeles is trying to hang on to the lead in the NL West as the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks attempt to chase them down.
Home run No. 47 extends his National League lead and moves him closer to Aaron Judge — currently at 51 homers — for the major league lead. He is still comfortably one of the top hitters in MLB with a slash line of .290/.373/.612 and 101 RBIs entering Wednesday's slate of games.
Ohtani is still a heavy favorite to take home NL MVP honors this season despite taking the year off from pitching. His two-way value used to make him a lock for MVP as long as he stayed healthy, but he's doing all of his heavy lifting at the plate in 2024. He is expected to return to pitching in 2025 after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Despite only being able to affect the game from one side, Ohtani has the Dodgers in prime playoff position once again. Entering Wednesday's games, Los Angeles held a 4.5-game lead in the NL West over the Padres.
They are also trying to chase down the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the National League and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs but have a few games to make up in the standings if they want that reward. Regardless, Ohtani certainly will be any pitcher's nightmare come October.
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