ST. PETERSBURG, FL – JUNE 13: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels connects with a single in front of Mike Zunino #10 of the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on June 13, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The single complete Ohtani hitting for the cycle in the game. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Angels DH Shohei Ohtani ensured his place in the history books on Thursday night, hitting for the cycle in Tampa Bay
Not even a power outage was going to stop Shohei Ohtani from making history on Thursday night.
Ohtani became the first Japanese player to hit for the cycle, powering the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-3 lead against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Ohtani first struck in the top of the first inning, hitting a three-run home run to center field off Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough. The home run, measured at 414 feet, was his eighth of the season. He added a double to the gap in left-center field leading off the third. In the fourth inning, however, Ohtani had to wait to see if he could complete the feat. Power went out in Tropicana Field, delaying the game for 36 minutes. When it came back on, Ohtani hit a triple just over the glove of Rays’ first baseman Travis d’Arnaud down the right-field line in the fifth. He later came in to score on a home run by Albert Pujols, Pujols’ 200th as a member of the Angels.
Coming up in the seventh just a single short of the cycle, Ohtani got it on the eighth pitch of the at-bat against reliever Hunter Wood. It’s the ninth cycle in Angels team history and the first since Mike Trout in 2013. Ohtani is currently 4-4 in the game with three RBI as they play in the eighth inning.
Ohtani raised his average on the season to .281 with his historic night. In his second season with the Angels after coming over from Japan, Ohtani didn’t play his first game of the year until May 7 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Less than a week ago he came a triple short of the cycle in a game against the Seattle Mariners.
Ohtani’s cycle is the second in MLB this season. Jorge Polanco of the Minnesota Twins pulled off the feat on April 5.