Shohei Ohtani made history Wednesday night at Petco Park, hitting a leadoff home run on the first pitch and throwing five scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Ohtani earned the win, striking out four batters while allowing three hits and two walks over 88 pitches.
His ERA dropped to 0.73 across eight starts this season, the lowest in the Major Leagues.
The home run off Padres right-hander Randy Vasquez was Ohtani's eighth of the season and his 27th career leadoff homer.
According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, Ohtani became the first pitcher in regular-season MLB history to hit a leadoff home run.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had previously kept Ohtani out of the batting lineup during his prior three pitching appearances to manage his workload.
For the series finale, Roberts inserted Ohtani as the designated hitter and leadoff batter.
"I just feel like he's more energized," Roberts said.
He added that the scheduling strategy helped Ohtani regain his offensive form after a monthlong period where he batted .
200. "I think the couple days off did his body and mind some good."
The Dodgers extended their lead in the second inning when Max Muncy doubled and scored on a long flyout by Teoscar Hernandez.
Ohtani drew a leadoff walk in the fifth inning and scored on a single by Kyle Tucker.
Hernandez hit his sixth home run of the year in the ninth inning to cap the scoring.
Vasquez took the loss for San Diego after giving up six hits and three runs.
The Padres loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into an inning-ending double play on Ohtani's final pitch.
Four Los Angeles relievers combined to finish the five-hitter, preserving the shutout as San Diego went scoreless over the final 15 innings of the series.
Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill left the game in the fifth inning after crashing into the outfield wall while attempting to catch Ohtani's home run.
The victory gave Los Angeles two wins in the three-game series and extended their lead over San Diego in the National League West standings.
Both teams have a scheduled day off Thursday before the Dodgers open a series in Milwaukee on Friday and the Padres host the Athletics.
NL West Standings Entering Wednesday
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 30-19 (—)
- San Diego Padres: 29-19 (0.5 GB)
- Arizona Diamondbacks: 24-23 (5.0 GB)
- San Francisco Giants: 20-29 (10.0 GB)
- Colorado Rockies: 19-30 (11.0 GB)
