Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani’s hot streak of home runs just unseated one of Mike Trout’s franchise hitting records.
Shohei Ohtani is so good, he’s even outdoing all-time Angel great Mike Trout.
On Friday, as Los Angeles battled the Orioles, Ohtani blasted his 29th and 30th home runs of 2021.
That’s now two more than Trout’s Angel record for home runs in the first half of the season.
The first moonshot came in the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the fourth, he added a two-run shot to left to put his team in front.
Ohtani has hit 13 homers since June 15. He’s had three two-home run games in that span.
Shohei Ohtani broke Mike Trout’s half-season home run record
The crazy thing is he still has plenty of time to add to his insane total before the All-Star break. The Angels play two more games against Baltimore in this weekend’s series, then another six games against the Red Sox and the Mariners.
Friday’s outing was the best possible bounce back from his woeful pitching performance against the Yankees on Wednesday. He had to be pulled in the first inning while giving up seven earned runs. It was basically the only down moment he’s had all season.
It takes a lot to outdo someone like Trout. It’s just unfortunate Trout hasn’t been available to succeed alongside Ohtani for much of this season. He has been out injured since May 17 and he’s on track to return soon after the All-Star break. Before the injury, he was batting .33/.466/.624 with eight home runs in 36 games.
The Angels are sitting just under .500 in fourth place in the AL West. After a five-game losing streak, they’ve bounced back with three wins in their last four.