Ohtani is the second Japanese-born player to hit a home run in an MLB game played in Japan, joining Hideki Matsui. Matsui hit a two-run home run for the New York Yankees against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the Tokyo Dome on March 31, 2004.

Ohtani's first home run came in the fifth inning of Wednesday's game, with the Dodgers leading 5-2. Ohtani faced Cubs reliever Nate Pearson and crushed a 99.1 mph fastball to deep center. The ball struck the wall near the yellow home-run marker, creating some uncertainty about whether it had cleared the fence.

This week wasn’t about the defending World Series champions visiting Japan, or Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s transformation, or even Roki Sasaki’s major league debut.