Fastball

Los Angeles Dodgers Set to Take on Cleveland Guardians as Ohtani Aims For More History

After hitting leadoff home runs in each of the two previous games, can the reigning MVP join a small group of players to do it three times?
Brady Farkas|
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) rounds the bases after a solo home run during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on May 25.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) rounds the bases after a solo home run during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on May 25. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

When the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night, superstar Shohei Ohtani will be looking to join a very small group in baseball history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

Ohtani has leadoff homers in back-to-back games

Will he join this list tomorrow?

most consecutive games with a leadoff home run, since 1900:
 
1996 Brady Anderson: 4
2023 Alex Verdugo: 3
2018 Ronald Acuna Jr.: 3

The reigning National League MVP winner, Ohtani leads the league in homers with 19, and he's also added 33 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. With a .295 average and a .392 on-base percentage, he's putting himself in early consideration for a fourth MVP Award in his career.

He's also a huge reason why the Dodgers are 33-21 and lead the National League West. LA beat Cleveland 7-2 on Monday behind that homer from Ohtani and six strong innings on the mound from Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

When the two teams meet on Tuesday, it will be a matchup of righties on the mound as Dustin May pitches for the Dodgers and Tanner Bibee pitches for Cleveland.

May, who has returned this season from Tommy John surgery, has gone 2-4 with a 4.09 ERA. He's one of just a handful of healthy Dodgers pitchers, as the team is still missing Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell.

As for Bibee, he's the new ace of the Cleveland staff. He sits at 4-4 thus far with a 3.57 ERA.

The Guardians are 29-24 and in second place in the American League Central.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.