Reigning MVPs Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani both launched historic home runs in the first inning Friday night as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s World Series.
Judge opened the fireworks with a powerful 446-foot solo homer to dead center field off Tony Gonsolin’s 1-1 pitch. This was Judge’s 19th home run of the season, tying him with Kyle Schwarber for third place across Major League Baseball.
Ohtani quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning, smashing a 417-foot homer to center field on the first pitch from Max Fried in front of a packed crowd of 53,276 fans.
“I felt like he was copying me,” Judge joked with a smile.
This marked the first time in MLB history that reigning MVPs homered in the first inning of the same game. The previous closest instance came in 2002 when Barry Bonds and Miguel Tejada homered in the same game, including during the World Series.
Ohtani emphasized the importance of scoring early to gain momentum. “I really thought it was important to be able to score another run in that situation,” he said through a translator.
Judge tried to stay focused on the game rather than the back-and-forth display. “You try not to think about it. I have a job to do—make plays and score runs,” he said.
Ohtani wasn’t finished; he led off the sixth inning with another solo homer to right-center. After nearly missing first base, he hurried back to touch the bag, sparking a four-run rally that helped the Dodgers come back for an 8-5 win—their 19th come-from-behind victory of the season.
With those home runs, Ohtani extended his lead in the majors with 22 homers and tied the Dodgers’ record for most homers in a single month with 15.
Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers’ first baseman, praised Ohtani’s impact. “We always play well when Shohei’s playing well,” Freeman said. “I heard the MVP chants, and he’s well on his way to earning that again.”
Ohtani has scored 60 runs this season, becoming the first player since 1901 to reach that milestone before June, according to OptaSTATS. He has been especially hot recently, hitting five homers in his last five games—four of which came on the first or second pitch.
Judge admires Ohtani’s consistency at the plate. “Year after year, he puts up incredible numbers,” Judge said. “You never know if he’ll rip a ball over to right field or take a first-pitch fastball opposite field.”
Last year, the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in five games to claim their eighth World Series title.