In the 5th inning, Ohtani sent Sugano's pitch soaring over the left-center field wall. In the 6th, he stepped back into the batter's box and added another homer, this one worth two RBIs. Watching the ball clear the fence twice in as many innings—this wasn't the first time Sugano had found himself on the receiving end of such a scene against Ohtani.
On August 18 Taiwan time, the Los Angeles Dodgers traveled to face the Colorado Rockies, with Shohei Ohtani batting leadoff as designated hitter. He went 4-for-4 on the day, including his 28th and 29th home runs of the season, as the Dodgers ultimately claimed an 11-5 victory.
Ohtani's head-to-head record against Sugano reads like a near-total blowout in his favor. Back in September 2025, the first time the two faced off in MLB, Ohtani homered in two consecutive at-bats. This past May, in their next meeting, he went deep in his very first at-bat of the game. This August 18 two-homer performance marks their third official matchup—and the third time it's ended with an Ohtani home run on the books.
This marks Ohtani's second multi-homer game of the season, coming 11 games after his last one on August 6. Aside from the shortened 2020 season, Ohtani has recorded multi-homer games virtually every year of his career—six times in 2022 alone, and four times last season.
After the game, Ohtani spoke about his recent form: "I've been making adjustments every day, and being able to properly capitalize on mistake pitches was key to tonight's success." Asked about his physical condition, he admitted he's not at 100 percent: "Especially at this point in the season, everyone is playing through some kind of pain to a certain degree. I just want to do my best to perform under these circumstances."
Much attention has focused on whether he can return to the mound for the postseason. Ohtani said the next month or so will be a critical period for him and the team to figure out "just how far I can push it," adding that if things look good the following day, he hopes to get into the bullpen for a throwing session. "I want to take things one solid step at a time," he said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't mince words in his postgame assessment: "When he's locked in like that, there's literally nobody on this earth who can beat him. Watching him play is truly a once-in-a-lifetime kind of joy."
