ohtani takes sole possession of major league home run lead

ohtani‘s 19th home runfinally arrived. Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani hit his 19th leadoff home run of the season in the top of the first inning of Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 27, hitting a first-pitch fastball from starter Gavin Williams. The home run moved Ohtani into sole possession of first place in the major leagues in homeruns, and it was his second consecutive game with a leadoff home run.

it was Ohtani’s fifth leadoff home run of the season and 17th leadoff home run of his major league career. he became just the fourth player in Dodgers franchise history to hit 19 home runs in 54 games in a season. On the day, Ohtani was a key part of the team’s offense, going 1-for-3 with three runs scored, one RBI, and two walks.

game recap and key moments

• topof the 1st: Ohtani leads off the inning with a first-pitch leadoff home run (121 meters)
• top of the 2nd: Smith singled, advanced to second on a walk, and scored on a Fajes RBI single
• top of the 5th inning: teosca singles, scores on Muncy’s sacrifice fly to center field to make it a two-run game
• top of the 6th inning: hye Sung Kim scored, Freeman RBI single scored Ohtani
• top of the ninth: Smith capped the scoring with her fifth home run of the season

starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto improved to 6-3 on the season with six innings of two-run ball, striking out seven to remain atop the league with a 1.97 ERA.

hye-sung Kim replaced with a fielding error

hye-Sung Kim started at second base on the day and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. in the second inning, she hit a clutch grounder with runners on first and second with only one out, and in the bottom of the fourth inning, she committed a fielding error. In the sixth inning, she scored after reaching base on an infield grounder, but she was replaced by Rojas in the eighth inning when the left-handed pitcher came to the plate.

the error was Hye-Sung Kim’s second of the season, showing that her defensive faltering could be costing her the starting job. her batting average dropped to .366 and her OPS to .858.

dodgers solidify NL West lead…with 7-2 win over Cleveland

with the win, the Los Angeles Dodgers improved to 33-21 on the season and solidified their lead in the National League West. cleveland saw Jose Ramirez’s 19-game hitting streak snapped, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the team from losing.

chris Taylor signs one-year deal with Angels

meanwhile, Chris Taylor, who was released by the Dodgers, signed a one-year, $7.6 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels to start fresh. taylor is a veteran with a storied career that includes World Series championships in 2020 and 2024, an All-Star in 2021, and co-MVP of the 2017 NLCS.