Shohei Ohtani broke an MLB record held by Ichiro Suzuki on Friday night, reaching base for the 44th straight game with a fifth-inning single as the Dodgers beat the Rangers 8-7. The streak is now the longest by a player from Japan.
Manager Dave Roberts said after the game that he thought Ohtani was going to hit a home run on his first bobblehead night of the season. Roberts added that Ohtani wanted one, too, but it just was not to be.
The hit kept alive a run that has stretched since Aug. 23, when Ohtani last failed to get on base. He has been 13-for-49 during the streak and owns a.406 on-base percentage so far.
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Ichiro had held the previous mark for consecutive games reaching base by a player from Japan at 43. Ohtani moved past it with a quiet night otherwise, then finally broke through in the fifth inning and turned a routine single into a piece of history.
The record is still far from the Dodgers’ own standard. Duke Snider owns the club mark at 58 straight games reaching base, leaving Ohtani with a chase that now feels real rather than theoretical.
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For a player who drew the night’s biggest spotlight and the loudest expectation, the single mattered more than the souvenir chase. Ohtani did not deliver the home run Roberts expected, but he left with something rarer: a place alone in the record book and a streak that is still alive.