Trailing by two going into the eighth inning, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ seven-game win streak was in jeopardy.
Max Muncy tied the game at five-apiece with a two-RBI double, and Jack Dreyer pitched a scoreless frame in the ninth to set up Shohei Ohtani to walk off the Atlanta Braves.
Ohtani hit a 399-foot home run to center field as the second batter in the ninth inning. It may just seem like an insignificant regular season game, but it is far from that. With the game-ending homer, Ohtani has tied Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki for the most walk-off home runs by a Japanese-born player in Major League Baseball history.
Ohtani’s first career game-ending home run came last season against the Tampa Bay Rays. Suzuki’s two instances came in 2009 and 2013. His first walk off home run came off Mariano Rivera.
The list of players from Japan that have hit walk-off home runs is short. Besides Ohtani and Suzuki, only Hideki Matsui, Norichika Aoki and Yoshi Tsutsugo have hit walk off home runs.
Matsui, Aoki, and Tsutsugo have each hit one walk-off home run in their careers. Matsui was the first Japanese-born player to hit a walk-off home run in league history when he did it against the Cleveland Indians on July 17, 2003. Before Ohtani’s two most recent walk-offs, Tsutsugo was the last Japanese-born player to hit a walk-off home run when he hit a three-run walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 29, 2021.
Ohtani is the reigning National League MVP and is off to another strong start to the season. He has already hit three home runs and his team is 8-0. Ohtani is also expected to take the mound again this season, just in time for the World Baseball Classic.
Suzuki is the first Japanese-born player to be elected into the Hall of Fame. Ohtani is putting together a strong case to one day join his idol.
Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is congratulated after hitting a walk-off home run against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
