Ohtani shines again in history-making display, Dodgers stay hot

There’s no stopping Shohei Ohtani at the moment as the Los Angeles Dodgers won their seventh consecutive game with a victory over the Washington Nationals.

Stats PerformUpdate: Jul 3rd, 2021 05:26 EDT

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Another day but the same story for record-setting Shohei Ohtani, who fuelled the Los Angeles Angels‘ 8-7 walk-off win over the Baltimore Orioles in MLB on Friday. Ohtani hit two homers and scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Angels overcame the Orioles at Angel Stadium.

The two-way Angels star took his tally to an MLB-best 30 homers in 2021 thanks to home runs in the third and fourth innings.

According to Stats Perform, Ohtani became the first player in American League (AL) history to reach 30 home runs and 10 stolen bases in his team’s first 81 games of the season. The only National League (NL) players to achieve the feat are Sammy Sosa (1998) and Albert Pujols (2009). Ohtani also earned the franchise record for the most homers before the All-Star break, surpassing Mike Trout’s 2018 record of 28.

Sho off the bat flip. pic.twitter.com/l9dMGzkBs8

— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2021

Dodgers extend streak, Manoah masters Rays

World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers won their seventh consecutive game by downing the Washington Nationals 10-5.

Alek Manoah set a Toronto Blue Jays record in their 11-1 demolition of the Tampa Bay Rays. The rookie pitcher made history with seven consecutive strikeouts in a game, according to Stats Perform. Manoah – back from a five-game ban – struck out a career-high 10 batters over seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball. George Springer, Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all homered for the Blue Jays.

Willy Adames homered as the Milwaukee Brewers emerged 7-2 victors against the Pittsburgh Pirates for their 10th successive win.

Lopez ejected in Marlins loss

Miami Marlins right hander Pablo Lopez was ejected after his first pitch hit All-Star Ronald Acuna Jr. in a 1-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. In a long-running history, Marlins manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. were also ejected.

The slumping Chicago Cubs tasted a seventh straight defeat after losing 2-1 at the Cincinnati Reds.

.@Brett_Phillips8 first time on the mound was a real treat. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/gwhoG1LFdr

— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 3, 2021

Phillips makes his first appearance on the mound