logo
Ohtani's big homer and Smith's 2 blasts help Dodgers end home woes with 5-2 win over Twins

Ohtani's big homer and Smith's 2 blasts help Dodgers end home woes with 5-2 win over Twins

Japan Today5 days ago
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
baseball
By BETH HARRIS
Shohei Ohtani hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the first after giving up a leadoff homer to fellow All-Star Byron Buxton, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Monday night.
The NL West leaders snapped a six-game skid at home, their longest such streak at Dodger Stadium since September 2017. They were swept in three games by the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend.
Buxton sent Ohtani's second pitch of the game halfway up the left field pavilion. After Mookie Betts walked, Ohtani answered with a 441-foot blast to center that put the Dodgers in front, 2-1. The two-way Japanese superstar has homered in three straight games.
Smith went deep twice off David Festa (3-4). Smith led off the fourth with a two-strike homer to center and followed with a 435-foot shot to left that made it 4-1.
Andy Pages added a solo shot off reliever Cole Sands.
Dustin May (6-6) took over from Ohtani, who allowed one run, four hits and struck out three in three innings. May gave up five hits in 4 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked three. Kirby Yates earned his third save.
Freddie Freeman was in the lineup a day after being hit by a pitch on his left wrist in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Milwaukee. He was 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa went 0 for 5, getting booed heavily in every at-bat by Dodgers fans still angry about the 2017 World Series, when Correa played for Houston. He was robbed of a potential game-tying homer by James Outman at the center field wall in the ninth.
Ohtani is the first pitcher to give up a homer and hit a homer in the first inning of the same game since Philadelphia's Randy Lerch in a 23-22 win over the Chicago Cubs on May 17, 1979.
Twins RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 3.95 ERA) starts Tuesday against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8-7, 2.59).
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Athletics: Shimizu logs 10.00 to set U-18 world record in men's 100
Athletics: Shimizu logs 10.00 to set U-18 world record in men's 100

Kyodo News

time4 hours ago

  • Kyodo News

Athletics: Shimizu logs 10.00 to set U-18 world record in men's 100

HIROSHIMA - Sorato Shimizu set an under-18 world record in the men's 100-meter sprint on Saturday, clocking 10.00 seconds at Japan's inter high school athletic meeting. Shimizu, a student at Seiryo High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, ran with a tailwind of 1.7 meters per second in the final in Hiroshima and tied the fifth fastest time recorded by a Japanese in the distance. The 16-year-old also broke the country's high school record of 10.01 set by Yoshihide Kiryu in 2013 when the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics 4x100 relay silver medalist was in his third year at Kyoto's Rakunan High School. "I was determined to run under 10 seconds heading into the final. I'm happy to have set a high school record," said Shimizu, who has cleared the entry standard for the world championships in Tokyo in September. "I'd like to get a taste of it if I can make it."

Baseball: Ohtani's homer streak ends, Imanaga roughed up
Baseball: Ohtani's homer streak ends, Imanaga roughed up

The Mainichi

time7 hours ago

  • The Mainichi

Baseball: Ohtani's homer streak ends, Imanaga roughed up

BOSTON (Kyodo) -- Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani had his homer streak snapped at five games Friday, while Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga had his worst outing of the season. Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a single, a walk and two strikeouts in the Dodgers' 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. His five-game home run streak equals six other players in Dodgers history, most recently Max Muncy in 2019. In Japan, Ohtani homered in five consecutive games in 2016 for the Nippon Ham Fighters. Teoscar Hernandez broke open a one-run game with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Ohtani's 2023 World Baseball Classic teammate Masataka Yoshida, batting fifth in the Red Sox lineup, was also 1-for-4 in the game. At Rate Field, Imanaga (7-4) gave up seven runs on 12 hits, including three home runs, in three-plus innings in the Cubs' 12-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and made it 5-0 in the second against the left-hander.

Baseball: Ohtani's homer streak ends, Imanaga roughed up
Baseball: Ohtani's homer streak ends, Imanaga roughed up

Kyodo News

time11 hours ago

  • Kyodo News

Baseball: Ohtani's homer streak ends, Imanaga roughed up

BOSTON - Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani had his homer streak snapped at five games Friday, while Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga had his worst outing of the season. Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a single, a walk and two strikeouts in the Dodgers' 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. His five-game home run streak equals six other players in Dodgers history, most recently Max Muncy in 2019. In Japan, Ohtani homered in five consecutive games in 2016 for the Nippon Ham Fighters. Teoscar Hernandez broke open a one-run game with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Ohtani's 2023 World Baseball Classic teammate Masataka Yoshida, batting fifth in the Red Sox lineup, was also 1-for-4 in the game. At Rate Field, Imanaga (7-4) gave up seven runs on 12 hits, including three home runs, in three-plus innings in the Cubs' 12-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and made it 5-0 in the second against the left-hander.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store