CHICAGO -- With his latest long ball, Shohei Ohtani is one step closer to remaking another Dodgers franchise record in his own image.
Ohtani led off Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the Cubs at Wrigley Field by taking Shota Imanaga deep for his 25th home run. It was his 11th leadoff homer of the season and his 29th as a Dodger, passing the great Davey Lopes for the second most in franchise history.
Mookie Betts holds the Dodgers' franchise record with 32 leadoff blasts, while Kyle Schwarber holds the MLB record with 15 in 2024. With four more leadoff homers, Ohtani could potentially hold both records this year.
Ohtani worked the count full against Imanaga before getting an elevated four-seamer down the middle on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Ohtani sent the ball a Statcast-projected 376 feet to right field at 110.2 mph off the bat, providing an early lead with the Dodgers seeking to end a season-high five-game losing streak.
But in the bottom of the first, fellow MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong answered back with a leadoff shot of his own off Eric Lauer. This is the third game this season in which both teams hit leadoff homers.
Ohtani has hit 134 homers as a Dodger. Only three other Major Leaguers have hit more homers in their first three seasons with a team: Mark McGwire (159 for the Cardinals), Alex Rodriguez (156, Rangers) and Babe Ruth (148, Yankees).