Asked and answered ... Ohtani blasts HR after Sox fans chant 'We want Shohei'

CHICAGO -- As the White Sox put the finishing touches on an 8-2 rout of the Dodgers on Friday night, when their biggest star was out of the lineup, a chant broke out from a section at Rate Field that had gone full "Tarps Off."

"We want Shohei! We want Shohei!"

Shohei Ohtani was out of Friday's lineup due to inflammation in his left knee, but he was back in the starting nine for Saturday's 7-1 win. He punctuated his return with a leadoff home run off White Sox starter Sean Burke.

Fans on the South Side wanted to see Ohtani. And they got him.

Ohtani's 14th home run of the season traveled a Statcast-projected 409 feet to right field at 109.6 mph off the bat. He went on to draw three walks and score another run later in the game. He never really needed to test his knee on the basepaths, but he feels that he's in a good spot.

"I felt good waking up in the morning. I feel good now," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "So I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go tomorrow as well."

In his third year as a Dodger, Ohtani is rapidly ascending the team leaderboard with 23 leadoff home runs. That is the third-most in franchise history, trailing Mookie Betts (32) and Davey Lopes (28).

It was his fifth leadoff home run this season -- and his third straight at Rate Field, dating back to 2024.

Both in his return to the lineup and his return to the home of the White Sox, Ohtani picked up right where he left off.