CHICAGO — Shohei Ohtani is already making his mark in the Dodgers’ record books, even though he has played less than half a season in his first year with Los Angeles.
Ohtani hit a leadoff home run Tuesday, a shot off White Sox starter Chris Flexen at Guaranteed Rate Field that Statcast said had a distance of 376 feet. With that homer, Ohtani has driven in at least one run in nine consecutive games.
In this way, the Japanese star was tied with Roy Campanella for the Dodger franchise record in a single season since runs batted in became an official statistic in 1920. Campanella accomplished the feat in 1955, while Augie Galan (1944) and Eddie Brown (1924) also achieved it. Matt Kemp had at least one RBI in nine consecutive games, but he did it throughout the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Ohtani received a little help during his jog, as from the dugout the Dodgers signaled him to return to first base to make sure he touched it. Ohtani stepped back, stepped on the bag — perhaps for the second time — and completed his run around the bases.
Perhaps even more impressive about the streak is that Ohtani has batted leadoff in eight of the nine games. He was promoted to the top spot in the Dodgers’ lineup on June 17 after Mookie Betts went on the 10-day injured list with a broken left hand.
