Shohei Ohtani lived up to the high expectations that came from being the major leagues’ leading home run hitter and the No. 1 seed in the All-Star Home Run Derby, but he couldn’t overcome a clutch performance from Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.
The Los Angeles Angels’ two-way superstar — and the American League’s starting pitcher in Tuesday’s All-Star Game — was eliminated after Soto hit three consecutive home runs in a thrilling first-round swing-off Monday night at Coors Field in Denver.
Soto and Ohtani finished their first-round matchup with a total of 22 home runs, then both added six more in an additional one-minute round — forcing the pair into a never-before-used three-swing tiebreaker.
Soto cleared the fences on all three of his swings, while Ohtani bowed out after failing to homer on his first.
Soto had the longest home run of the entire first round, a 520-foot blast. However, Ohtani did hit six 500-foot home runs, the most in a single Home Run Derby since Statcast began tracking in 2016.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Home Run Derby: Shohei Ohtani upset by Juan Soto in first round