Shohei Ohtani hit his second homer of the campaign on Thursday as the Los Angeles Dodgers managed to secure a 5-4 victory in their home opener against the Detroit Tigers.
On March 19, Ohtani, who had hit a home run in Game 2 of the opening series in Tokyo, increased his team’s advantage to 5-3 with a solo shot off Dodgers’ right-handed pitcher Brenan Hanifee. In the bottom of the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani took an outside pitch—a 3-2 sinking fastball—and drove it deep beyond the outfield fence for a homer. This expanded their lead after scoring two outs earlier in the frame.
Starting as the designated hitter, Ohtani went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. He added another hit when he grounded into right field off Detroit’s starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (0-1) in the third inning.
Teoscar Hernandez contributed three RBIs with a home run in the fifth inning for the Dodgers, who began their season at 3-0 following their victory in both games held at Tokyo Dome against the Chicago Cubs.
Blake Snell, who has won the Cy Young Award twice, recorded his initial victory with the Dodgers after pitching five innings and allowing two runs.
