Baseball: Ohtani homers twice to reach 250 as Dodgers beat Giants
KYODO NEWS - 12 hours ago - 17:07 | Sports, All
Shohei Ohtani belted two home runs to reach 250 for his Major League Baseball career as the Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to an 11-5 victory against divisional rivals the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
With first place on the line, the Japanese superstar went long in the first and sixth innings of the bounce-back win for Los Angeles, which moves it one game clear of San Francisco atop the National League West standings.
Ohtani snapped a 10-game streak without a homer when he launched his seventh leadoff bomb of the season, sending it an estimated 419 feet to right center field off a 2-1 cutter from right-hander Landen Roupp (4-5).
"The first at-bat of the game is when the opposing pitchers are most aggressive," Ohtani said. "In the later innings of a close game with a runner in a scoring position, a lot of pitchers and teams tend to throw outside the strike zone more. The first inning is when you have the best chance to swing at pitches inside the zone."
The home team piled on the runs early at Dodger Stadium, going up 6-0 when Ohtani scored on Will Smith's sacrifice fly before Roupp was removed with two out in the second.
Ohtani led off the sixth with his NL-best 25th home run off right-hander Tristan Beck, belting his full-count curve 384 feet over right center. The homer marked his third game with multiple home runs this season.
The two-way player has been making steady progress toward his return to the mound, gradually intensifying his workload while pitching in simulated games.
"Throwing a lot of pitches in a simulated game is quite demanding. But it's the path I have to take," he said. "I want to concentrate and coordinate both (batting and pitching)."
Clayton Kershaw (2-0) got the win after allowing only three hits over seven scoreless frames. The Giants scored all their runs after Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts sent out infielder Enrique Hernandez to pitch in the ninth.
Roberts, who was born in Okinawa, was awarded a prefectural honor by Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki before the game. Tamaki also threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Related coverage:
Baseball: Shohei Ohtani solid in practice as pitching comeback progresses
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