Shohei Ohtani is chasing Babe Ruth for this specific MLB record.

Rodney Knuppel

Shohei Ohtani is chasing Babe Ruth for this specific MLB record. image

There are not many things that 31-year-old Shohei Ohtani has not done in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers' left-handed slugger did it big again on Sunday, as he clubbed his 45th home run of the season. The bomb was in the ninth inning and added to the Dodgers' cushion.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, after trailing 2-1, scored the final seven runs of the game to beat the San Diego Padres 8-2 and tie the National League West divisional standings back up at 74-57 on the season.

The home run for Ohtani put him back in a tie with Kyle Schwarber for the most in the National League. They are 13 ahead of the next best, which is Juan Soto of the New York Mets.

But what Ohtani is also chasing is Babe Ruth.

Yes, that Babe Ruth. Sarah Langs posted that Ohtani hit his 99th round tripper with the Dodgers. He came over to Los Angeles last season and helped the club win the World Series in his first season.

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Now, he is 14 away from tying Babe Ruth for the most of any player in his first two seasons. Ruth clubbed 113 in two seasons with the Yankees, which is four more than Alex Rodriguez with the Rangers from 2001-02.

The next home run for Ohtani will tie him in third with Roger Maris, who smashed 100 of them between the 1960-61 seasons.

For Ohtani, his next opportunity will be Monday night, as the Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds start a three-game series. Los Angeles will remain at home all week, as the team takes Thursday off, but then welcomes the Arizona Diamondbacks to town for a weekend series starting on Friday.

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Rodney Knuppel

Rodney Knuppel is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. When not watching, listening or writing about sports, Rodney enjoys following the travels of his three kids, who are all active in their own sports and activities. A huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, Rodney also enjoys St. Louis Blues hockey and is a big Kansas Jayhawks basketball fan.