Rangers' Jonah Heim Hits First Grand Slam Against Shohei Ohtani in 10-5 Win Over Angels
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim did something Thursday night that no one else in Major League Baseball can boast.
In the bottom of the second inning of Tuesday night's contest between the Rangers and Los Angeles Angels, Heim hit his first career grand slam to give Texas a 4-2 lead. It was also the first surrendered grand slam and the first home run hit off the splitter in Ohtani's big league career.
The Rangers batted around and forced Ohtani to throw 34 total pitches in the frame, forcing activity in the Angels bullpen. However, Ohtani was able to continue, logging 3 2/3 innings. Prior to the grand slam, the Halos took the lead on an RBI single by Brandon Marsh and 472-foot solo home run by Mike Trout.
The grand slam ignited the Texas offense as the Rangers went on to win, 10-5, improving to 2-4 on the season. Heim ended up going 3-for-4 with a career-high five RBI.
Ohtani, MLB's only regular two-way player, won the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 2021. The Japanese star slashed .257/.372/.592/.965 with 46 home runs and 100 RBI and went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 130 1/3 innings (23 starts).
"It’s pretty special," Heim said. "When you can hit a grand slam, a home run off a guy as talented as Ohtani, it’s special. Excited, hopefully we can get them tomorrow."
Heim won the job as the Rangers back up catcher in spring training, resulting in the club's decision to trade fan-favorite catcher Jose Trevino to the New York Yankees. Heim has now gone 6-for-11 in the early stages of the season, slashing .545/.615/1.091/1.706 with two home runs and eight RBI in three games.
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The Rangers offense ended up tagging Ohtani for six runs in the game. One moment that stood out to manager Chris Woodward was Willie Calhoun's at-bat prior to Heim's grand slam. On two different occasions, Calhoun laid off Ohtani's splitter when it was dangerously close to the strike zone. Calhoun ended up drawing a walk, loading the bases for Heim to make history.
"We had talked about if we can just lay off that split," Woodward said. "If we can just lay off that thing, and he did. They were millimeters away from being strike three twice. And he ends up walking. ... It's huge that we can do that, especially against an elite guy like that."
Game Notes
- Corey Seager was robbed of his first home run as a Ranger in Tuesday night's loss to the Colorado Rockies—one that would have given Texas the lead at the time. He didn't have to wait long to get that first homer out of the way as he went deep in the fourth inning to give Texas a five-run lead.
- The Rangers batted around in the second and fourth innings, scoring four runs in each frame. Behind Heim's five RBI, Seager drove in a total of three runs and Nathaniel Lowe had an RBI double in the fourth. Mitch Garver might eventually get credit for an RBI for a play in the fifth inning that was ruled an error, but might get another look by MLB later on.
- Rangers starter Dane Dunning bounced back after a rough first inning. While he ended up going only 3 2/3 innings, he struck out seven batters and, most importantly, kept the Angels off the board after the offense put the team ahead.
