If you haven’t heard about the historical game that Dodgers Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda had on Wednesday night by now, your are either:

• In a coma.
• One of the 60% of LA residents unable to watch the game because of the on-going dispute between Time Warner Cable and DirecTV.
• Not the Dodger fan you claim to be.

On Wednesday evening, Maeda and the Dodgers shut out the San Diego Padres for a third consecutive game by a score of 7-0, following on the heels of Clayton Kershaw’s 15-0 rout on Monday and Scott Kazmir’s 3-0 shutout on Tuesday night – all three with the help of eight combined scoreless innings of relief by the Dodgers bullpen.

In addition to setting a new franchise record for opening a season with 27 consecutive scoreless innings to break their previous record of 23 consecutive scoreless innings set in 1974 (also against the Padres), the Dodgers also became the first team to open a season with three consecutive shutouts since the St. Louis Cardinals did so in 1963.

Maeda said he was a bit nervous heading into Wednesday night’s game after what Kershaw and Kazmir had done in the two previous games, but added that the four runs his teammates scored in the first inning helped ease a lot of that pressure. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

But in addition to these new team records, Maeda also set a few personal records as well. He became only the second major league starting pitcher in MLB history to allow no runs and hit a home run in the modern era (since 1913), joining only Jason Jennings, who accomplished this extremely rare feat on August 23, 2001 while a member of the Colorado Rockies.

While Maeda’s fourth-inning home run off of Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner may have caught most Dodger fans by surprise, anyone who had the opportunity to watch him take batting practice during spring training at Camelback Ranch knew that the soon-to-be 28-year-old (on April 11) Osaka, Japan native has some serious pop in his bat. In fact, during one such batting practice (with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pitching), Maeda hit several home runs using a Japanese-made bat. Roberts then bet Maeda dinner that he couldn’t hit one out using an American-made bat. Maeda grabbed the first bat he found and promptly his Roberts’ first pitch over the fence.

During a March 27 spring training game against the Cincinnati Reds – the first spring game that he pitched where a designated hitter was not used – Maeda laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt which led to a run. But before he could come to the plate for his second at-bat, he was pulled for a pinch-hitter, for which he was a bit miffed.

His only other spring training at-bat came during his short tune-up outing during the Freeway Series against the Angels last Friday night when he struck out. When asked about that at-bat, the extremely polite right-hander answered with the only English word spoken during his postgame interview – “Bad.”

But here again, just watching Maeda taking his hacks during that Freeway Series game and in his first at-bat on Wednesday night (when he also struck out), he hit several very hard foul balls and you could tell that if he ever squared one up, it would go a very long way.

He did, and it did.

On an 0-2 count, Cashner hung an 82-MPH slider that Maeda absolutely crushed, sending it 358 feet into the left field corner of spacious Petco Park for a solo home run – his first in the MLB, the first of the 2016 season for the Dodgers and the first by a non-native starting pitcher player making his major league debut.

“I didn’t know the ball was going in,” Maeda said through an interpreter. “I was just running really hard.”

But Maeda’s teammates knew the ball was going in. In fact, after the traditional silent treatment given to a player hitting their first major league home run – a tradition that Maeda was unfamiliar with and initially surprised by – the Dodgers bench exploded in excitement.

“I was obviously surprised he hit a homer, but watching him hit in batting practice in spring training, we knew he has the ability to do it, you just don’t expect it,” said Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. “I’ve been playing for eight years, I have one homer, so that was pretty impressive. We’re supposed to pitch well, but when we do that, that’s Little League stuff. That’s awesome.”

After first receiving the traditional silent treatment for hitting his first major league home run, Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is swarmed by his teammates. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Although Maeda’s home run may have been unexpected by many, perhaps even most, I have a sneaking suspicion that we haven’t seen the last round-tripper from him. In fact, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he hits several more this season – Little League stuff or otherwise.