Adam Engel raced to the wall in pursuit of a long fly to center by Shohei Ohtani in a Sept. 7, 2018, game at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Engel jumped, but the ball was just out of his reach for a three-run home run.
It was Ohtani’s first home run in his first game at the ballpark. Whether facing him at home or on the road, Ohtani has been a pain to the Chicago White Sox since coming to the major leagues in 2018.
After years of doing damage with the Los Angeles Angels, Monday marked Ohtani’s first time at Guaranteed Rate Field with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani entered Monday with a career .318/.393/.798 slash line in 35 games against the Sox. He has 16 home runs — his fourth-most against any major-league club — and 35 RBIs. He has six home runs and 19 RBIs in 16 games at Guaranteed Rate Field.
And he came into the series just after being named the National League Player of the Week, collecting four home runs in six games last week.
“He’s one of the hottest hitters on the planet right now,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said before Monday’s game.
Here’s a closer look at the team’s past matchups against Ohtani.
2018
Stats in 7 games: .240/.345/.720 (6-for-25), 3 HR, 9 RBIs, 8 strikeouts, 4 walks.
Ohtani set the tone for the success against the Sox, hitting a solo home run against Lucas Giolito in the fourth inning of his first game against the team on July 23 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
He homered again on July 25, a two-run blast against James Shields in the fifth inning.
But those were the only two hits he had in the series, as the Sox held him to 2-for-14 with five strikeouts in the four games.
Ohtani helped the Angels to a three-game sweep in the September series at Guaranteed Rate Field. He drove in six, including the three-run home run in the third inning off Carlos Rodón during the Sept. 7 game. He went 4-for-11 and scored three runs in the series.
2019
Stats in 7 games: .429/.429/.821 (12-for-28), 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 9 strikeouts, 0 walks.
Ohtani was one of four Angels to hit homers in a 9-2 victory against the Sox on Aug. 18 at Angel Stadium. Ohtani hit a two-run home run that day in the seventh inning against reliever Ross Detwiler. He had six hits in 15 at-bats during the four-game series in Anaheim.
Ohtani nearly hit for the cycle in a Sept. 7 game at Guaranteed Rate Field. He hit a two-run double in the first, a three-run homer in the third and singled in the fourth. He had two chances at completing the cycle but lined out in the sixth and struck out in the eighth, settling for a 3-for-5 night with five RBIs. He went 6-for-13 with the home run and six RBIs in the three games Sept. 6-8.
2021
Stats in 7 games: .207/.258/.483 (6-for-29), 2 HR, 3 RBIs, 13 strikeouts, 1 walk
There weren’t any meetings in 2020 because of the pandemic-shortened season. The Sox opened the 2021 season in Anaheim, where Ohtani capped a four-game series with a fine hitting and pitching performance on April 4.
He hit a 451-foot solo home run in the first inning against Dylan Cease. On the mound as the Angels’ starter, Ohtani surrendered one earned run while striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings.
Ohtani homered twice in the four games against the Sox at Angel Stadium while going 4-for-16 with three RBIs and six strikeouts.
The Sox found ways to contain Ohtani on Sept. 14-16 at Guaranteed Rate Field, when he struck out seven times in the three-game series. That included going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the series opener on Sept. 14. Ohtani went 2-for-13 in the series.
2022
Stats in 7 games: .273/.385/.636 (6-for-22), 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 6 strikeouts, 4 walks.
The Sox limited Ohtani to two hits in 13 at-bats during an April 29-May 2 series at Guaranteed Rate Field. Ohtani collected both hits in the first game of the series, including a home run. He also walked and scored three runs.
Ohtani went 2-for-5 in that contest, but 0-for-8 the rest of the series.
Three of his four hits during the June 27-29 home series against the Sox went for extra bases. He doubled twice and hit one home run, going back-to-back with Mike Trout on June 28. Ohtani’s home run, which followed Trout’s, went 420 feet to center and had an exit velocity of 107.1 mph.
2023
Stats in 7 games: .440/.548/1.360 (11-for-25), 7 HR, 10 RBIs, 9 strikeouts, 5 walks.
The Sox could not slow Ohtani down last season. He had multi-home run games against the team twice — once at Guaranteed Rate Field (two on May 31) and once at Angel Stadium (two on June 27).
He homered four times, drove in five and scored six runs while going 8-for-14 in the June 26-29 series in Anaheim. He also pitched the June 27 game when he hit the two home runs at Angel Stadium, allowing one run and striking out 10 in 6 1/3 innings.
As a pitcher, Ohtani is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA and 28 strikeouts in three career starts against the Sox.
He’s not pitching in 2024 after undergoing elbow surgery at the end of last season but has taken the National League by storm at the plate. He is hitting .321 with 23 home runs and 57 RBIs.
Sox reliever Justin Anderson — Ohtani’s teammate in 2018-19 — summed it up well to the Tribune on Monday afternoon, saying, “Everything he does with his work is very impressive, how intricate and detailed it all is.”
