Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani collected abundant praise after pitching six scoreless innings versus the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday, but he had yet to make a huge impact with the bat. Despite drawing seven walks in his first six games, the four-time MVP came into Friday afternoon's matchup against the Washington Nationals with a .167 batting average, .167 slugging percentage and no home runs. It did not take long for those numbers to spike.

With the Dodgers trailing 3-0 in the top of the third inning, Ohtani crushed a game-tying 401-foot bomb off two-time All-Star and veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas. When a hitting savant sees the ball go over the fence after a slow start offensively, a power surge can often ensue. Fans were not worried about the 6-foot-4 left-handed batter, but they still had a big reaction to his first official homer of 2026.

“1 down, 56 more to go,” @Tware1k proclaimed on X. “FINALLY! Not bad to have your first extra base hit of the season be a HR,” @WinEdgeX commented. “HESSSS BACK,” @Curlytoes02 remarked. “IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO BE ALIVE,” @dodgerblued celebrated.

The stars aligned for Ohtani in Nationals Park. Mikolas, who made waves in LA for his infamous “checkbook baseball” and “Midwestern farmers” soundbite in 2024, entered the day with a 7.20 ERA. He has been in sharp decline for a few years now, so it should not be surprising to see him deliver a weak changeup to one of the most prolific sluggers in the game today. The 37-year-old proceeded to give up 11 earned runs to the two-time defending World Series champions before exiting in the fifth.

Shohei Ohtani does not need a friendly matchup to succeed, however. Now that he has recorded his first home run of the season, the baseball world will expect the geyser to erupt. The Dodgers lead 12-4 at time of print.