Shohei Ohtani repeats his MLB record after hitting a leadoff homer vs. San Diego Padres

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Shohei Ohtani has found another way to make an impossible MLB record belong only to him.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star opened his start against the San Diego Padres with a leadoff home run, then backed it up on the mound.

That combination gave Ohtani the second known instance of a pitcher hitting a leadoff homer in MLB history, and both belong to him.

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Shohei Ohtani repeats MLB record with Los Angeles Dodgers leadoff blast against San Diego Padres​

Real App highlighted the absurd history after Shohei Ohtani homered as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter while also starting on the mound.

The list is as short as it gets. Pitchers to hit a leadoff homer in MLB history: Shohei Ohtani in NLCS Game 4, and Shohei Ohtani against the Padres.

Ohtani attacked immediately at Petco Park, jumping on the first pitch from Randy Vásquez and sending it 398 feet to right-center field.

The homer left his bat at 111.3 mph and gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead before Ohtani even had to pitch with a scoreboard behind him. He then threw five scoreless innings, allowed three hits, struck out four and helped Los Angeles beat San Diego 4-0.

Shohei Ohtani turns the Los Angeles Dodgers start into another two-way masterpiece​

The Padres game echoed the postseason night that first created this record, but it also showed how routine Ohtani can make the extraordinary feel.

In NLCS Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers, Ohtani became the first pitcher to hit a leadoff homer in MLB history, then produced one of baseball’s greatest playoff performances.

That night, he struck out the side in the first inning, hit a leadoff homer in the bottom half, finished with three home runs and struck out 10 across six scoreless innings.

The Padres version was less theatrical, but the record was just as ridiculous. No other pitcher owns one leadoff homer in MLB history. Ohtani now has two.

His latest outing also dropped his season ERA to 0.73, strengthening the idea that his pitching form has become just as important as his power again.

For most players, a first-pitch leadoff homer would define the night. For Ohtani, it was only the first half of another two-way statement.

Read more:

• Shohei Ohtani reaches rare Dodgers mark amid Cy Young push
• Mookie Betts offers solid response to ‘what’s wrong’ with Shohei Ohtani
• The Dodgers fell 1-0 to San Diego, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s outing was the part Los Angeles will remember

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