Watch: Ohtani opens 'Sunday Night Baseball' with gigantic HR

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. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Watch: Shohei Ohtani opens 'Sunday Night Baseball' with gigantic HR

By Adam Gretz | Last updated May 25, 2025 7:57 PM ET

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani took a big step toward his return to the pitcher's mound by throwing some live batting practice on Sunday. While the Dodgers have not yet seen him pitch this season, they are still getting the benefits of his bat, which is one of the best in MLB.

He proved that again in the top of the first inning when he opened Sunday night's game against the New York Mets by clubbing his 18th home run of the season on just the second pitch of the game.

It also moved him into a three-way tie for the Major League lead alongside Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Have a look:

Shohei Ohtani starts off #SundayNightBaseball with a BANG❗️ pic.twitter.com/Hw8Jb4zNO8
— MLB (@MLB) May 25, 2025

That is an absolute monster home run — 411 feet — into the second deck of Citi Field.

Even before that home run Ohtani entered play on Sunday in the top-three of home runs, slugging percentage and OPS across all of Major League Baseball. He is going to be in the running for another MVP award this season if he keeps going at that pace.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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