[ad_1]
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers began their Shohei Ohtani era with a memorable victory on a night of firsts.
Ohtani’s RBI single capped a four-run rally in the eighth inning in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 in Wednesday night’s opener, Major League Baseball’s first game in South Korea.
“It was just a good night overall for Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The bigger picture is significant because you have a generational talent at your club in a great market in Los Angeles. “There are a lot more eyes on the Dodgers and Major League Baseball.”
The game changed when a The routine ground ball went through the membrane of first baseman Jake Cronenworth’s glove. when he scored the go-ahead run.
Ohtani went 2 for 5 with an RBI in his first game since leaving the Los Angeles Angels for a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. A crowd of 15,952 was on hand to watch at the Gocheok Sky Dome.
The two-way star, limited to hitting after elbow surgery, also had a mental error that led to the final out of the eighth. He was called out when he passed second base and then failed to tag the bag while retiring on Freddie Freeman’s fly ball, causing a double play that ended the inning.
A bomb threat did not appear to affect pre-match preparations. Police found no explosives and said they acted after receiving a tip that the threat was against Ohtani.
Padres pitchers walked nine and hit one batter, and the Dodgers had seven hits, none for extra bases.
San Diego led 2-1 entering the eighth when Max Muncy led off with a walk against Wandy Peralta. Teoscar Hernández, also debuting with the Dodgers, singled off Jhony Brito (0-1), among the players the Padres obtained in the trade that sent star Juan Soto to the New York Yankees.
James Outman walked and a sacrifice fly by Kiké Hernández tied the score. Adrián Morejón relieved and Gavin Lux hit a helicopter on Cronenworth that the two-time All-Star tried to backhand. The ball went through the straps of the first baseman’s big glove.
“I could have gone through innings before that. It just happened in that situation and it sucked,” Cronenworth said. “I thought it was an easy double play.”
Hernandez came home with a 3-2 lead.
“That’s a big mistake for Cro,” Roberts said. “A lucky break for us. You have to take them when you can get them.”
Betts and Ohtani followed with RBI singles.
Betts, Ohtani and Freeman became the first MVPs to hit 1-2-3 in a batting order since Philadelphia’s Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt for 10 games in 1983. The only other instances were by the Big Red Machine of Cincinnati, with Rose, Morgan and George Foster on May 13, 1978 and Rose, Morgan and Johnny Bench on May 5, 1976.
Betts, moved to shortstop this season, combined with Ohtani to go 4-for-9 at the top of the order.
Daniel Hudson (1-0), the third of five Dodgers pitchers, pitched a one-hit seventh. Evan Phillips pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save, finishing a four-hit game that gave the Dodgers their sixth straight victory over the Padres in an opener.
With his new wife Mamiko Tanaka watching from the beach, Ohtani got his first hit with the Dodgers with a 112.3 mph single to right field against Yu Darvish. Ohtani was at the plate in the first when Mookie Betts attempted to steal second, but was ejected due to umpire Lance Barksdale’s interference on Luis Campusano behind the plate.
Xander Bogaerts put the Padres ahead in the third with an RBI single off Tyler Glasnow. Bogaerts became the third player with hits in five nations after Edgardo Alfonzo and Paul Goldschmidt, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Bogaerts also has hits in the United States, Canada, Mexico and England.
Jason Heyward hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and San Diego took the lead again in the bottom half when Campusano hit a run-scoring double play grounder.
Glasnow allowed two runs, two hits and four walks in five innings, throwing 77 pitches. Los Angeles acquired him from Tampa Bay in December and signed the 30-year-old right-hander to a five-year, $136.5 million contract.
“The whole day was kind of a routine,” Glasnow said. “Noisy, cool atmosphere.”
Darvish allowed one unearned run and two hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Muncy had his first hit of the season, singleing off the end of his bat at second and into center.
Entering his twelfth season, Bogaerts made his first major league appearance at second when Ha-Seong Kim moved to shortstop.
In the first game since MLB shortened the pitch clock with runners on base by two seconds to 18, Padres pitchers were called for four violations, including two by Peralta and one each by Darvish and Yuki Matsui.
Matsui, the fourth of eight San Diego pitchers, got two outs in his Padres’ sixth inning. He agreed to a five-year, $28 million contract.
San Diego’s Ha-Seong Kim, playing in his native country, went 0 for 3 with a walk.
COACH ROOM
Dodgers: RHPs Walker Buehler (Tommy John surgery), Brusdar Graterol (shoulder swelling), Blake Treinen (bruised lung) and Emmet Sheehan (right forearm swelling) were placed on the 10-day disabled list. RHP Landon Knack was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Parents: RHPs Glenn Otto (major right teres strain) and Luis Patiño (right elbow inflammation) were placed on the 15-day injured list and INF Tucupita Marcano (right knee ACL surgery on Sept. 9) August) on the 10-day injured list.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto makes his Major League debut after agreeing to a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers. He had an 8.38 ERA in 9 2/3 innings in three spring training outings. “I’m not really worried about the numbers,” he said through a translator. … RHP Joe Musgrove starts for the Padres after going 10-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 17 starts last year.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
[ad_2]
Source link