ANAHEIM — There’s seemingly nothing Shohei Ohtani can’t do on a baseball field, and on Tuesday against the Yankees, he did something he’d never done before.
The two-way star stole home for the first time in his four-year career as part of a three-run rally in the fifth inning for the Angels in an eventual 6-4 win at Angel Stadium. With runners at first and third, Phil Gosselin stole second and Ohtani successfully stole home as part of a double steal. Ohtani made an incredible slide past catcher Gary Sánchez, just beating the throw home from shortstop Gio Urshela.
It was the second stolen base of the game for Ohtani, who is the favorite for the American League MVP award heading into September. Ohtani leads the Majors with 42 homers and also has 22 stolen bases. He’s only the fourth player in AL history with at least 42 homers and 22 stolen bases in a season, joining Jose Canseco (1988, ’91, ’98), Alex Rodriguez (’98, 2007) and Ken Griffey Jr. (’99). And he’s also 8-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 105 innings over 19 starts on the mound.
Ohtani became the first Angels player to steal home since Francisco Arcia on Aug. 7, 2018. And he became the first player to steal home and earn a win on the mound in the same season since Darren Dreifort in 2001, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Ohtani was intentionally walked with runners at second and third with two outs in the fifth. But the move backfired for the Yankees, as Gosselin came through with a two-run single off right-hander Jameson Taillon. Reliever Joely Rodríguez came in but allowed the double steal, which was the second of the game for the Angels.
David Fletcher and Ohtani also pulled off a double steal of second and third as part of a three-run fourth inning. Gosselin popped up a bunt for the first out but Jared Walsh followed with a three-run blast to give the Angels the lead.