Los Angeles Angels turn triple play on Shohei Ohtani line drive

In the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday night, Shohei Ohtani stepped up to face his former team. Before he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, he shined for the Angels to start his career.

Ohtani hit a line drive to the shortstop, who was shading toward the middle. However, it turned into the Angels’ eighth triple play in franchise history.

Zach Neto caught the line drive and was able to step on second base before firing to first. Dalton Rushing tried to get back to first base, but was just far enough off the base for Nolan Schaunel to place the tag and complete the triple play.

The Angels’ last triple play came in 2023, according to statistician Sarah Langs, when they did so against the Tampa Bay Rays. Los Angeles entered Tuesday’s game with a 57-62 record – 6.5 games back in the American League Wild Card standings and 9.5 games behind in the AL West. The Dodgers won the first game of the series, 7-4, on Monday.

Shohei Ohtani made history during the last series

Shohei Ohtani is in the midst of another MVP-level campaign for the Dodgers. He recently hit his 40th home run of the season during the last series against the Detroit Tigers, marking his third straight 40-homer season and fourth in five years.

Additionally, he’s pitching for the first time in a Dodger uniform after serving just as a hitter last year due to surgery. In eight starts this year, he has thrown 19 innings and has 25 strikeouts.

With his 40th home run, Ohtani joined impressive company. He’s now the fourth Dodgers player to have multiple 40-homer seasons, joining the great Duke Snider – who had five from 1953-57 – Gil Hodges in 1951 and 1954, and Shawn Green in 2001 and 2002.

“That was one of those swings where he was behind the ball. He stayed into the ground,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s 40th home run, via Dodgers.com’s Sonja Chen. “I know he and the hitting guys have been working on some things mechanically. That was as good of a swing as you’re going to see.”

The Dodgers have been up-and-down since the All-Star Break, taking a 10-12 record since the break into Tuesday’s game. With a 68-51 record, they’re still in first place in the National League West, though the lead is now just one game over the San Diego Padres.