Baltimore.— Shohei Ohtani shone again with the bat and led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, hitting two home runs (numbers 47 and 48 of the season) in his first two at-bats.
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The Japanese player, who is going through a historic year, tied the Dodgers franchise record with 12 leadoff home runs, matching the record set by his teammate Mookie Betts in 2023. In addition, Ohtani was only three home runs away from tying the mark of Kyle Schwarber (15) as the most home runs in the first inning of a game in a season.
In the upper part of the first inning, Ohtani punished a 1-0 count pitch from his compatriot Tomoyuki Sugano, depositing the ball over the center field fence to give the Dodgers an early lead. In the third inning, he repeated the dose with another home run of 399 feet, thus adding the 23rd multi-home run game of his career.
Mookie Betts also provided power with a consecutive home run and finished the game with two RBIs, including a single in the ninth inning that extended the Angels’ lead.
The triumph snapped a five-game losing streak for the Dodgers and keeps the team at the top of the National League West Division, with only one game separating them from the San Diego Padres.
On the mound, veteran Clayton Kershaw (10-2) shined in his first start at Camden Yards, pitching 5.2 innings in which he allowed two runs, struck out eight batters, and left his ERA at 3.27. After leaving in the sixth inning, the bullpen backed the lefty to secure the victory.
Manager Dave Roberts highlighted the team’s resilience:
“I like the way our guys didn’t let themselves down. We were coming off a painful defeat, but the energy in the clubhouse was high from the start, and Ohtani gave us the boost we needed.”
