Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani will be headed to Chicago this weekend for a series against the Cubs, and it will actually mark a career first for him.
Ohtani, who signed a massive free agent deal with the Dodgers over the offseason, will face off against the Cubs for just the second time in his career beginning on Friday, and this one will be a bit different.
As things stand, Ohtani has played games in 27 of the 30 current MLB stadiums, but Wrigley Field surprisingly is not one of them.
In fact, Ohtani played his first career games against the Cubs last season when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels. In the three-game series in Anaheim, Ohtani went 3-for-11 with a double and a home run, with two stolen bases to his credit.
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So far this season, Ohtani is batting .270 as a designated hitter for the Dodgers, with his first home run of the season on Wednesday night. He has driven in four RBIs and stolen a base, and has an OPS of .750 on the young campaign.
Ohtani and the Dodgers will kick off their three-game series against the Cubs at 1:20 p.m. CT on Friday, with the series continuing through the remainder of the weekend.
Ohtani will face his former World Baseball Classic teammate Shota Imanaga in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
MLB
The remaining two ballparks that Ohtani will have to visit to complete his trip through MLB will both be on the Dodgers’ schedule later this year. He’ll visit Nationals Park in Washington to take on the Nationals April 23-25, and he’ll complete the set June 4-6 when the Dodgers take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
For those curious, the ballpark that has been kindest to Ohtani outside of the American League West is Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the White Sox, where he has hit six home runs and driven in 19 RBIs in 16 career games there.
