DENVER — Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hit his 54th homer of the season Friday night against Colorado after earlier stealing base No. 57 to pass Ichiro Suzuki for the most in a single season by a Japanese-born player.
Ohtani launched a towering three-run blast into the second deck at Coors Field in the sixth inning on a changeup from Rockies reliever Anthony Molina. Ohtani has a National League-leading 54 homers as he chases a possible Triple Crown.
He doubled in the eighth inning to lift his batting average to .309, trailing only Luis Arraez (.312) and Marcell Ozuna (.310).
In the second inning, Ohtani stole second to eclipse Suzuki’s mark set in 2001 with Seattle. Suzuki played for the Mariners, the New York Yankees, Miami and then briefly returned to Seattle over a career that spanned parts of 19 seasons.
Ohtani has successfully stolen 34 straight bases without getting caught. It’s the second-longest streak in franchise history, trailing only Davey Lopes’ 38 in 1975.
Ohtani is 57-of-61 on stolen-base attempts the season.
In addition, he is second in franchise history with 408 total bases. Babe Herman set the record of 416 in 1930.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.