ANAHEIM — Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani reached 30 homers before the calendar turned to July, and he made the most of it with an absolutely epic blast to right field off D-backs lefty Tommy Henry on Friday night.
Ohtani’s 15th homer in June left the bat at an astonishing 115.1 mph and traveled a projected 493 feet to right field, according to Statcast measurements. The sixth-inning solo shot was the longest homer in the Majors this season and the longest by Ohtani in his six seasons in the Majors. His previous long was 470 feet off Royals lefty Kris Bubic in 2021.
It’s tied for the 13th-longest homer since Statcast was introduced in 2015. The record remains a 505-foot blast from Nomar Mazara in 2019. It’s also the Angels’ longest-hit homer tracked by Statcast, surpassing a 490-footer from Mike Trout on Oct. 5, 2022.
Ohtani also made history in the process, becoming just the fourth player in American League history to hit 15 homers in the month of June. He joined Babe Ruth (1930 Yankees), Bob Johnson (1934 A’s) and Roger Maris (1961 Yankees). Ohtani already set the club record for homers in any month with his 14th blast of the month on Thursday. And it’s also the second time he has reached 30 homers before the All-Star break, as he had 33 before the 2021 Midsummer Classic.
Ohtani, who was selected as an All-Star for a third straight season after being the leading vote-getter in the AL, has had a June for the ages.
After his homer, which cut the D-backs’ lead to 5-1, Ohtani had a June slash line of .394/.488/.952 with 15 homers, seven doubles, three triples, four stolen bases and 29 RBIs in 27 games. He also made four starts on the mound, posting a 3.26 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings.
