Shohei Ohtani pitches, but bat is key in Dodgers’ win over Padres

LOS ANGELES: Shohei Ohtani pitched an inning for the first time in nearly two years and drove in two runs out of the leadoff spot as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 6-3 victory over the visiting San Diego Padres on Monday in the opener of a four-game series.

Ohtani, who is back to pitching after undergoing a second Tommy John procedure in 2023, started and gave up one run and two hits on 28 pitches in his lone inning of work, reaching 100.2 mph on a fastball. At the plate, he had an RBI double in the third inning and a run-scoring single in the fourth.

Max Muncy had a two-run single and Will Smith collected two hits as the Dodgers won for the sixth time in eight games. Los Angeles has a 2-1 record against the Padres in that stretch.

Manny Machado hit a home run and had two RBIs for the Padres, who fell to 4-8 since June 4. Fernando Tatis Jr. had two of San Diego’s six hits.

San Diego right-hander Dylan Cease opened the game with five consecutive strikeouts, one off the club record, before giving up six runs on eight hits in five innings. He finished with nine strikeouts and one walk.

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The Padres got to Ohtani early with singles from Tatis and Luis Arraez to open the game. Machado gave San Diego a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Dodgers evened the game in the third inning when Andy Pages led off with a double and Ohtani brought him home with a two-out double.

Los Angeles took control with a five-run fourth inning against Cease (2-6). Muncy’s two-run single gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead before Tommy Edman, Ohtani and Mookie Betts all added RBI singles.

The Padres got one of the runs back when Machado sliced a home run into the right field corner against right-hander Ben Casparius, his 11th of the season.

The Dodgers used seven pitchers with Casparius (5-1) giving up two runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings. Right-hander Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his second save.

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