Shohei Ohtani blasted his 15th home run of the season Tuesday as the Los Angeles Angels ran away with an 11-5 win over the Texas Rangers.
Batting second as designated hitter, the two-way star jumped on a 3-2 cutter from righty Brett de Geus and drilled it over right field for a three-run homer that put the Angels up 9-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
The shot flew off Ohtani's bat at 188 kilometers per hour, making it the hardest-hit homer by an Angel since measurement of exit velocity began in 2015, according to MLB.com.
Ohtani capped a six-run fourth for the Angels with the home run, his first since May 18. The left-handed batter moved into a tie for second in the MLB home run race with Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. and Texas' Adolis Garcia. Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads with 16.
The 26-year-old Ohtani also drew a pair of walks and struck out twice in a 1-for-3 outing.
Justin Upton opened the scoring in the first inning of the American League West contest at Angel Stadium with a solo homer against Texas starter Yang Hyeon Jong (0-2).
Angels batters chased the South Korean left-hander with one out in the bottom of the fourth and the home side leading 5-1.
Jared Walsh went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs for the Angels, while Upton drove in a pair of runs. Southpaw Andrew Heaney (2-3) got the win after a 5⅔ inning start in which he fanned five and allowed three runs.
After tentatively scheduling Ohtani to make his seventh pitching start on Friday, the Angels are pushing him up a day to face the Athletics in Oakland on Thursday.