Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani started off Friday’s World Series rematch with some loud fireworks.
On Friday, Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers hosted Judge’s New York Yankees for the opener of their three-game series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Judge got the party started with one out and the bases empty in the top of the 1st inning.
Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin’s 1-1 fastball to the Yankees star caught way too much of the plate. Judge took advantage, launching the ball to dead center for a 446-foot solo home run.
Ohtani was not to be outdone. The Japanese-born slugger smashed the first pitch he saw from Max Fried to left-center field for a big fly of his own to tie the game at 1-1.
The pair of home runs marked the first time in MLB history that the reigning MVPs from each league homered in the first inning of the same game.
Given the nature of interleague play, reigning MVPs don’t face off very often. Teams from opposing leagues never even played each other until 1997. But it’s still surprising that Judge and Ohtani became the first duo to achieve the feat.
Ohtani may have felt a little insecure that his home run was dozens of feet shorter than Judge’s dinger. Shohei hit another leadoff homer in the sixth inning for good measure.
Ohtani entered Friday’s contest with an MLB-best 20 home runs. He just added two more to his total, with Aaron Judge (19) not far behind.
