Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday hit his first home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a solo drive in the seventh inning in a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants that finished a three-game sweep.
Playing his ninth game for his new team, Ohtani pulled a sinker from left-hander Taylor Rogers on the upper, outer portion of the strike zone into the right-center field pavilion.
“Honestly, very relieved that I was able to hit my first homer,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “It’s been a while and honestly my swing hasn’t been great. So overall, very relieved.”
Photo: AFP
The home run came in the 41st plate appearance for the two-time Most Valuable Player, who left the Los Angeles Angels after last season as a free agent and agreed to a record US$700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers.
“I got myself into a fastball count there and then figured I’d try to do the same thing I did yesterday,” said Rogers, who got Ohtani to ground out on a nearly identical pitch in Tuesday’s game. “That was my plan. Throw it over there and see if he’ll do the same thing as yesterday.”
Ohtani’s home run, the 172nd of his major league career, put the Dodgers ahead 5-3.
The two-way star is limited to hitting this year following elbow surgery in September last year and entered in a three-for-20 slide. He also singled and scored in the second inning, and he is hitting .270 with four RBIs.
Ohtani met the fan who caught his home-run ball after the game. He gave the fan a ball, a bat and two hats in exchange for the ball.
“Obviously, it’s a very special ball,” Ohtani said. “A lot of feelings toward it. I’m very grateful that it’s back.”
Tyler Glasnow (2-0) retired 15 of his first 18 batters before faltering in the sixth inning. He gave up three runs and four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Joe Kelly pitched the seventh inning and Daniel Hudson the eighth, before Dinelson Lamet finished the five-hitter by striking out two in a perfect ninth for his first professional save.
Miguel Rojas also homered and drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who won their fourth straight game and improved to 7-2. The Dodgers have scored at least five runs in all nine games to start the season, the first time they have done that in franchise history.
“Even right now with some guys that are kind of scuffling and trying to find their way with their swing, we’re still putting up five runs a game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think it’s big for our starting pitching and it’s big just for morale knowing that we can score early, we can score late, and we’ve seen some good arms and we’re still finding ways to put up some crooked numbers, which is huge.”
Jorge Soler and Patrick Bailey hit solo home runs for the Giants, who have lost four straight and dropped to 2-5. San Francisco have dropped 14 of their past 19 against the Dodgers.
Kyle Harrison (1-1) gave up four runs, six hits and three walks in five innings.
After Bailey’s home run tied it in the third inning, Will Smith hit an RBI double in the bottom half and scored on Teoscar Hernandez’s single for a 3-1 lead.
Elsewhere, the Red Sox edged the Athletics 1-0, the Astros battered the Blue Jays 8-0, the Guardians mauled the Mariners 8-0, the Angels sank the Marlins 10-2, the Twins beat the Brewers 7-3 and the Rangers routed the Rays 4-1.
The Reds defeated the Phillies 4-1, the Padres pipped the Cardinals 3-2, the Orioles edged the Royals 4-3, the Nationals sank the Pirates 5-3, the Cubs overcame the Rockies 9-8 and the Yankees downed the Diamondbacks 6-5 in 11 innings.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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