OK, Shohei
Shohei Ohtani picked up within the postseason the place he left off one other doubtless MVP common season — with a bang. Ohtani took his standard leadoff spot within the Dodgers’ lineup for Game 1 of their wild-card collection towards the Reds Tuesday night time.
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He labored Reds starter Hunter Greene to a 2-1 depend. Greene responded with a 100 mph fastball over the within nook of the plate. Ohtani turned on it and deposited a laser into the right-field bleachers at Dodger Stadium.
ESPN’s Jon Sciambi barely had time to name the home run earlier than it was over the wall for a 1-0 Dodgers lead.
There’s good purpose. The home run was a first-of-its-kind. Or not less than a first-of-its-kind within the Statcast period.
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The ball left Ohtani’s bat at 117.7 mph and traveled 375 ft on a line drive. That’s the quickest home run hit off a 100-plus mph pitch since Statcast began monitoring such stats in 2015. By a protracted shot.
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Per MLB Stats, then-Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers beforehand held the excellence with a 113.7 mph blast off a 100 mph Gerrit Cole fastball towards the Yankees on June 27, 2021. Ohtani’s exit velocity Tuesday bested Devers’ by a full 4 mph.
Ohtani’s home run can also be one of many hardest hit of any form within the postseason within the Statcast period. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, solely Kyle Schwarber, Giancarlo Stanton and Ohtani himself have hit tougher home runs since 2015.
It provides up to a stellar begin to Ohtani’s postseason. At this level, we should not anticipate something much less.