Shohei Ohtani was the hero of the night for the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.
With the Angels down, 3-1, in the seventh inning, Ohtani worked the count against top reliever Michael King and saw a fastball he liked.
He hit a long drive that New York Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader thought he had a chance to catch, keeping some suspense for a few seconds.
He didn’t have a true chance, though, and the ball cleared the center field fence for a two-run home run that tied the game at three runs apiece.
A jubilant Ohtani flipped his bat, with thousands of fans screaming in the background.
It made for an incredible picture.
At that exact moment, the Angels went from being just a few outs away from losing to tying a tough game and later winning it in extras.
Here is a cool angle of Ohtani’s game-tying homer:
Inject this into our veins. 🦄
(via @LasMayores)pic.twitter.com/vqx65ksTc6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 18, 2023
With the win, the Angels moved closer to .500 (47-48) and to keeping Ohtani at the deadline.
The Yankees, on the other hand, are still last in the AL East with no rebound in sight as long as they don’t have Aaron Judge in the lineup.
Speaking of Judge, without him in the picture, Ohtani is running away with the 2023 AL MVP award.
He is up to 35 home runs, more than all of 2022.
He is hitting .306, boasting a 184 wRC+, and even dominating as a pitcher.
There is no one in the junior circuit with a performance that can at least come close to what he is doing.
For a night, at least, Ohtani and the city of Los Angeles had an incredible moment that they won’t forget.
NEXT: Shohei Ohtani Is Mirroring His MVP Season