Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs, who are competing for the Major League Baseball (MLB) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, traded multi-homer performances in a head-to-head matchup.
Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong each hit two home runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers-Chicago Cubs game held at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on the 6th (Korea time).
Ohtani, leading off for the Dodgers in the top of the first inning, appeared to seize the momentum by launching a solo shot to right field off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. But after the sides switched, Crow-Armstrong, leading off in the bottom of the first, drove a pitch from Dodgers starter Eric Lauer for a solo home run to center field. According to statistics firm Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time two players ranked within the top 10 in that year's MVP voting exchanged leadoff home runs.
In the bottom of the fourth, Crow-Armstrong struck first with a two-run shot to right field, and Ohtani responded with a two-run arch to left-center in the top of the eighth while trailing 4-7. Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-5 with four RBIs on the day, while Ohtani went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. The Chicago Cubs won the game 7-6. The Dodgers suffered their first six-game losing streak of the season.
Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani, this season's MVP candidates, are locked in a tight, evenly matched race. As of that day, Crow-Armstrong was batting .288 with 26 home runs, 69 RBIs, a .386 on-base percentage, and a .938 OPS. Ohtani's season line stood at a .298 batting average, 26 home runs, 70 RBIs, a .400 on-base percentage, and a .956 OPS. In stolen bases, Crow-Armstrong, with 28 steals, became the first player in Cubs franchise history to record "25 home runs-25 steals" in two consecutive seasons. Ohtani, by contrast, has only 6 stolen bases this season.
According to FanGraphs' wins above replacement (fWAR), Ohtani has posted 3.4 as a batter and 3.0 as a pitcher, for a combined 6.4. Crow-Armstrong, considered a top-tier center fielder, leads all of baseball with a 7.4 fWAR.
