Shohei Ohtani was one swing away from chasing history Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Instead, a 94-mph sinker from Mets starter David Peterson ended that chase before it began — cracking Ohtani on the right shoulder in the first inning and extinguishing what had become one of the more electric storylines of the early 2026 MLB season.
The hit-by-pitch ended Ohtani's streak of leadoff home runs in consecutive games, a streak that had captivated baseball fans over the weekend and put the record books in the crosshairs. Dodgers fans erupted. Ohtani, to his credit, walked it off — literally — scoring on a Will Smith RBI single despite the visible pain. But the moment that baseball had been anticipating didn't arrive, and now the question is when — not if — it will.
What Happened Monday Night: Breaking Down the Hit-By-Pitch
The setup couldn't have been more dramatic. Ohtani stepped to the plate in the first inning against the New York Mets with two consecutive leadoff home runs already in his back pocket — one Saturday and one Sunday against the Texas Rangers — and a chance to become just the third player in MLB history to hit leadoff home runs in three straight games since 1900.
Peterson didn't make it easy. The Mets left-hander ran his sinker in on Ohtani's right shoulder at 94 mph, sending the two-way superstar to first base instead of the batter's box circle. The baseball world watched as Ohtani, still grimacing, scored on a Will Smith RBI single — contributing to the Dodgers' 4-0 lead — but never recorded a hit in his first three plate appearances of the evening.
According to ClutchPoints, Dodgers fans were furious following the play, with frustration boiling over on social media. The sentiment wasn't just about the broken streak — it was about the optics of a pitching staff's first instinct being to run a 94-mph sinker into the shoulder of baseball's most irreplaceable player.
Whether intentional or not is almost beside the point. Ohtani is the kind of player where even accidental contact feels like a broader injustice to fans who show up specifically to watch him hit.
The Streak That Had Baseball Buzzing: Saturday and Sunday vs. the Rangers
To understand why Monday's hit-by-pitch stung so much, you have to appreciate what Ohtani did over the weekend against Texas. Back-to-back games. Back-to-back leadoff home runs. First pitch, first at-bat, first inning — gone.
Sunday's home run was particularly loaded with narrative weight. The opposing starter? Jacob deGrom — one of the most dominant pitchers of his generation, making his return to the mound and clearly focused on proving he still belongs at the top of the rotation. Ohtani got to him immediately, launching a leadoff shot that set the tone.
To deGrom's credit, he didn't crumble. He settled in for six innings of one-run ball, striking out nine batters in a 5-2 Rangers win. After the game, deGrom was characteristically direct: "He's a great hitter. He got me in the first at-bat and I wanted a chance to try to go out there and redeem myself."
That quote, reported by Yahoo Sports, captures exactly what makes elite-versus-elite matchups so compelling. Two of baseball's best, each acknowledging the other's excellence while refusing to back down. Ohtani won the first battle. deGrom won the war. And baseball fans got something worth watching.
The Record in Sight: What Ohtani Was Chasing
The historical context here matters. According to Heavy.com, the MLB record for consecutive games with a leadoff home run since 1900 is four — set by Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles in 1996. Anderson was in the middle of his legendary 50-home-run season, a statistical anomaly that baseball historians still debate.
With two consecutive leadoff homers, Ohtani was attempting to reach three, which would have tied both Alex Verdugo (2023) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (2018). That's elite company in a category that doesn't get tracked casually — you have to be genuinely locked in as a hitter and genuinely dangerous on the first pitch to keep this streak alive across multiple games.
The fact that Ohtani was attempting this feat while leading off for the Los Angeles Dodgers — one of baseball's deepest lineups — adds another layer. He's not on a bad team trying to create highlights. He's the centerpiece of a genuine World Series contender, and he's still managing to make individual history feel urgent.
Ohtani's 2026 Season at a Glance: Already Historically Rare
Step back from the streak and look at the broader season picture. Through 14 games, Ohtani is batting .283 with 4 home runs, 9 RBIs, and 8 runs scored. Those numbers are good. What's exceptional is the on-base streak.
Forty-six consecutive games with at least one on-base appearance. That number, carried over into the 2026 season, reflects not just Ohtani's ability to hit but his elite plate discipline and the profound respect opposing pitchers show him — even when they're occasionally placing a 94-mph sinker on his shoulder.
As MSN Sports notes, what Ohtani is doing at the plate this season may be something baseball never sees again. The combination of power, contact ability, on-base consistency, and leadoff positioning creates a statistical profile that has no historical equivalent — at least not in the modern era and certainly not from a player who also happens to be one of the best pitchers in the world when healthy.
The Dodgers, for their part, are flying. An 11-3 record through 14 games puts them firmly atop the NL West, and Ohtani's production at the top of the order has been central to that success. This is not a slow start waiting to be corrected. This is a team that looks like it's been built for October and is treating April like a dress rehearsal.
Meanwhile, the Mets are navigating their own roster challenges — the team recently called up Tommy Pham amid an outfield crisis, underscoring the depth concerns New York has faced early in the season.
Why Dodgers Fans Were Furious — And Why Their Reaction Makes Sense
The immediate reaction from the Dodger Stadium crowd and social media was visceral. ClutchPoints documented the fan outrage that followed the hit-by-pitch, and while some of it is the predictable emotional response to seeing your star player take a baseball to the shoulder, some of it is rooted in something legitimate.
Ohtani is not a replaceable commodity. There is no plan B if he goes down with a serious injury. The Dodgers built their roster — and their business model — around his continued health and production. When a pitcher runs a hard sinker into his right shoulder, intentionally or not, it triggers a primal fear among the fanbase: what if that had been worse?
This isn't new. Every star player's fanbase has this relationship with opposing pitchers and the inside part of the plate. But the magnitude is different with Ohtani. He's not just the best player on the Dodgers. He's arguably the most interesting and irreplaceable player in baseball — possibly the most valuable individual talent the sport has seen since Babe Ruth. That context changes how every pitch near his body lands emotionally.
The good news is Ohtani appeared to shake it off physically. He scored. He took more plate appearances. He didn't leave the game. But "he's okay" doesn't fully extinguish the anxiety, and Dodgers fans won't fully exhale until he's back in the lineup swinging freely.
What This Means: Analysis of Ohtani's Place in Baseball History
Here's the honest take: the broken streak is a minor footnote. What it represents — Ohtani consistently hunting records and making history feel accessible — is the real story.
Most players spend entire careers never threatening a record in a meaningful category. Ohtani does it with a frequency that's become almost normalized, which is its own form of remarkable. MLB's early superstar rankings already have Ohtani at the top of the food chain, alongside Yordan Alvarez, and for good reason.
The leadoff home run streak, had it continued, would have entered serious historical territory by the end of the week. Brady Anderson's record of four consecutive games is not some untouchable monument — it's a mark that could fall with the right hot streak from the right hitter. Ohtani is that hitter. The only question is when the opportunity will resurface.
What Monday's game reinforced is that the baseball world is watching every at-bat. Every first-pitch swing. Every leadoff appearance. That level of sustained attention — in a sport that struggles to command it on a daily basis — is itself a testament to how singular Ohtani's talent is.
The Dodgers' rotation and lineup depth give him every opportunity to keep racking up numbers. If the 46-game on-base streak continues deep into the season, it will become one of the defining narratives of 2026. And the next time Ohtani leads off a game against a pitcher who leaves one over the plate, the entire baseball world will be watching to see if the record chase restarts.
The Dodgers-Mets Series: Bigger Than One At-Bat
It's worth zooming out to appreciate the broader context of this series. The Dodgers (11-3) hosting the Mets is an early-season marquee matchup between two franchises with legitimate playoff ambitions and massive payrolls. Every game in this series carries weight beyond the standings.
The Mets, working through roster construction challenges including recent callups and outfield depth questions, are still a team built to compete. David Peterson is a solid mid-rotation arm who did his job Monday — keeping Ohtani off the bases in the first inning, whatever the method. Whether Mets fans feel good about how that happened is a different conversation.
For the Dodgers, the 4-0 lead through early reporting suggests the offense is clicking even with Ohtani limited in his contributions. That's a sign of genuine depth — you don't stay 11-3 in the NL West by leaning on one bat. But Ohtani's presence at the top of the order is what makes the rest of the lineup more dangerous, and anything that disrupts that presence matters beyond any single game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Ohtani leave the game after being hit by the pitch?
No. Despite visible discomfort in the dugout following the hit-by-pitch, Ohtani remained in the game, scored on a Will Smith RBI single, and continued taking plate appearances. He did not record a hit in his first three at-bats, but his participation was not curtailed by the injury.
What record was Ohtani going for against the Mets?
Ohtani had hit leadoff home runs in consecutive games Saturday and Sunday against the Texas Rangers. A third consecutive game with a leadoff home run on Monday would have tied Alex Verdugo (2023) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (2018). The all-time MLB record since 1900 is four consecutive games, set by Brady Anderson in 1996.
Is Ohtani's 46-game on-base streak still active?
As of Monday night's reporting, Ohtani had not recorded a hit but had reached base via hit-by-pitch, keeping his on-base streak technically alive. The official count would depend on the formal box score and how the streak is calculated, but the hit-by-pitch itself constitutes reaching base safely.
How have the Dodgers performed to start the 2026 season?
The Dodgers entered Monday's game against the Mets with an 11-3 record — first place in the NL West through 14 games. That pace projects to one of the best records in baseball over a full season. Ohtani has contributed 4 home runs, 9 RBIs, and a .283 batting average across those 14 games.
What happened in Ohtani's matchup with Jacob deGrom on Sunday?
Ohtani hit a leadoff home run off deGrom in the first inning Sunday, but deGrom recovered to pitch six innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts. The Rangers won the game 5-2. deGrom was candid after the game, acknowledging Ohtani's quality while noting his own desire to compete: "He's a great hitter. He got me in the first at-bat and I wanted a chance to try to go out there and redeem myself."
Conclusion: A Broken Streak, An Unbroken Star
David Peterson's sinker on April 14, 2026 ended one streak. It didn't end the larger story. Shohei Ohtani is 14 games into a Dodgers season that already has the feel of something historically significant — and he's doing it while routinely putting the record books in play with his first at-bat of the night.
The leadoff home run streak is gone for now. But Ohtani's 46-game on-base streak continues, his team sits atop the NL West, and his talent guarantees that the next record chase is never more than one at-bat away. Brady Anderson's mark from 1996 isn't going anywhere just yet — but it has probably never felt more vulnerable than it does right now, in the era of Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers-Mets series continues, and Ohtani will be back in the leadoff spot the next time Los Angeles takes the field. The only question is which record he'll be threatening then.
