Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers waits for his dog Decoy as Decoy throws the ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game between the Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Shohei Ohtani, second from left, hits a solo home run as Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, left, and catcher James McCann, right, look on with home plate umpire John Bacon during the first inning of a baseball game on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Shohei Ohtani, left, gestures as he walks to third base as Baltimore Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias looks on after he hits a solo home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Shohei Ohtani walks to third base for a seal during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 in Los Angeles.
16:15 JST, August 29, 2024
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the third inning, Shohei Ohtani hit a deep one to start the game on his second bobblehead night and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Ohtani singled and scored in the third inning and scored again in the fifth, giving the Japanese superstar a personal best of 104 runs this season, bettering his record of 103, set in 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels.
“Every big moment, he seems to hold his own,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Ohtani hit his 42nd home run off Corbin Burnes (12-7) and stole his 41st and 42nd bases in his quest to become the first major leaguer in history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. He has 14 stolen bases in August, the most by a Dodger in a month since his manager Roberts had 15 in March and April 2004.
“We knew it was going to be a tough lineup and a tough pitcher to play against,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “We collectively did a really good job against him.”
He and his beloved dog Decoy, who appear together on the bobblehead, delivered the ceremonial first pitch to a sold-out crowd of 53,290. On Ohtani’s signal at home plate, the dog carried the ball in his mouth from the mound to the plate, where he and his owner shared a high five.
Trailing 3-1, the Dodgers came back to score four runs and take a 5-3 lead in the third. Mookie Betts had an RBI single and Hernández hit his 28th home run with two outs.
Baltimore cut the lead to 5-4 on an RBI double by Ryan O’Hearn to the right field corner, chasing Dodgers starter Walker Buehler in the fifth inning.
“I thought we had some good ABs early on, but we didn’t do much offensively from the middle of the game on, but yeah, it wasn’t our cleanest game,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.
Anthony Banda (2-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief to earn the win. Michael Kopech retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save.
The Orioles led 3-1 in the second inning on Dodger errors. A one-out error by third baseman Max Muncy put O’Hearn on first. Catcher Will Smith’s dropped third strike allowed Cedric Mullins to advance to first and moved O’Hearn to second. They scored on Ramón Urías’ double to right. James McCann’s bloop single to left brought Urías home.
“We certainly didn’t help Walker,” Roberts said. “Will just got confused. It bounced in the dirt and I think he thought he caught it in the air.”
Buehler went to the dugout and threw his glove on the bench in frustration. He allowed four runs — two earned — and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. The right-handed pitcher struck out four and walked one.
Buehler has been working hard to get back into the same condition he was in before Tommy John surgery.
“I was encouraged, as I have been since 2021,” he said. “I felt like I could let guys go. I felt very competitive.”
Burnes gave up six runs (one earned) and five hits in five innings, while striking out four.
