Shohei Ohtani leads Dodgers past Red Sox
Ohtani became the first player in the National League to hit 30 home runs this season.
LOS ANGELES – The legend of Shohei Ohtani grew Sunday with another powerful swing that once again made home plate at Dodger Stadium look like his own personal TopGolf stall.
Ohtani used the biggest club in his bag to crush a 473-foot home run that missed clearing the jagged corrugated-metal roof atop the pavilion by mere feet. The impact of his 30th home run was felt just the same in the Dodgers’ 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday that completed a three-game sweep.
The fifth of the Dodgers’ season-high six home runs on the day was still the one that resonated most. Ohtani’s missile rose like a Titelist before it disappeared through a small opening between the metal roof and a six-sided advertising panel.
“Everybody was like kind of semi-impressed,” Ohtani said of his dugout reception through interpreter Will Ireton.
Was he sure he got all of it?
“Yes, and at a good angle,” Ohtani said, playing along.
Home runs by Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward paled in comparison as the Dodgers emerged from an early deficit. Lux ended the day with three hits.
“Nothing surprises me anymore with him,” Lux said of Ohtani. “It sounded like a shotgun off his bat. He’s a special player. All around, all sides of the ball. I’m looking forward to seeing him pitch next year too. Yeah, he’s special.”
Barnes had all of a minute to celebrate his first home run of the season before Ohtani raced into the spotlight.
“I was starting to sit down thinking about (the next inning) and then boom,” Barnes said. “Shohei is unbelievable. I usually don’t miss any of his at-bats because it’s fun to watch.”
Ohtani became the first player in the National League to hit 30 home runs this season. He trails only the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge by five homers after not going deep in his first eight games with his new club. So much for early power concerns.
“It’s just hard to fathom someone hitting a baseball like that,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He did say he got all of it. That’s just where people don’t go. Just really impressive. He does things, it seems like every night, that people just can’t do and I’m happy he’s wearing a Dodger uniform.”
All that distance came from an ominous beginning when Dodgers starter James Paxton gave up a double to Romy Gonzalez on his first pitch of the game. Boston’s Jarren Duran continued his breakout tour with a two-run homer on Paxton’s third pitch.
Duran continues to make waves after earning the All-Star Game MVP on Tuesday with a go-ahead two-run home run in the American League’s 5-3 victory. He hit another home run against the Dodgers on Friday and added one more with four RBIs in Sunday’s nationally televised game.
But Ohtani snagged the spotlight in typical fashion with a home run that still made it onto the plaza behind the outfield bleachers and toward the concession lines.
Two late comebacks to open the series were followed by Sunday’s power show, including Barnes’ first home run of the season that came just in front of Ohtani’s blast. Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford gave up all five home runs.
“I think just winning, coming back from behind to win a lot of these games, difficult situation, it really creates a lot of momentum for the team,” Ohtani said. “So hoping to continue that moving forward.”
The Dodgers erased the Red Sox’s early advantage in their half of the first inning when Freeman hit a home run, his 16th, ahead of consecutive doubles from Andy Pages and Lux that tied the game 2-2. Freeman’s weekend included a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning Friday.
The Dodgers took a 3-2 lead in the third inning on a home run from Hernandez, his 20th of the season and first since winning the Home Run Derby on Monday. Lux made it 4-1 in the fourth inning with his fifth home run and second of the weekend.
Barnes appeared to put the exclamation point on some evening fireworks with his first home run since September of last season. That was until Ohtani followed with a blast that was registered at 116.7 mph off the bat and reached an apex of 110 feet.
Paxton rebounded to allow just two more hits over his five innings of work, although he did walk four batters while recording seven strikeouts. It helped the Dodgers to the sweep after they lost six of seven before the All-Star break.
Joe Kelly delivered his second scoreless outing in two days after returning from the injured list Friday, although he did allow an inherited runner to score.
After Cavan Biggio followed a Lux single and stolen base with an RBI single in the eighth inning, Heyward hit a home run to right field in his return from the injured list.
The Dodgers entered the ninth inning with a six-run lead before Evan Phillips allowed a two-run double to Duran. Boston got the tying run to first base before Daniel Hudson finished off his sixth save.
Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas left the game after three innings with right forearm tightness and is day to day while not expected to play Monday.
“I don’t think it’s going to be anything major,’ Rojas said. “Just going to come in tomorrow, see how it feels when I throw. As of right now, it’s just tightness of my forearm.”