Baseball: Ohtani goes 1-for-2 in 5th All-Star appearance

The Mainichi

16-07-2025

ATLANTA (Kyodo) -- Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-2 with a single and a run scored in his fifth All-Star appearance Tuesday as the National League beat the American League in the inaugural home run swing-off following a 6-6 tie.
The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star singled to center leading off the bottom of the first inning and came home on a two-run double by Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park in Atlanta.
In the second inning, Ohtani grounded out to first, one pitch after he narrowly missed a homer with a hard-hit foul ball to right field.
"I just wanted to be aggressive, no matter whether I end up hitting a home run or striking out," Ohtani said. "My base hit wasn't an impressive one, but it was good."
"I had a good time getting to know players I've seen only on TV and understanding their personalities."
Ohtani, who hit his first All-Star Game home run last year, was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the fifth.
The AL rallied from a 6-0 deficit and tied the score in a two-run ninth when Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians delivered a game-tying infield single with two outs.
The annual Midsummer Classic then went to the Home Run Derby-style swing-off, with three hitters from each league getting three swings each. Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies went 3-for-3 to give the NL the lead for good at 4-3.
The NL's starting pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates threw a 1-2-3 opening frame, striking out the first two batters and getting Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees to ground out.
Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Los Angeles Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi were the other Japanese players selected to the All-Star Game but did not pitch.