Shohei Ohtani delivered a dominant two-way performance as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 at Petco Park on Wednesday, May 20.
The win propelled the Dodgers into first place in the NL West, improving their record to 31-19 and moving them 1.5 games ahead of San Diego.
Ohtani launched a 405-foot home run on the very first pitch of the game off Padres right-hander Randy Vasquez.
He then took the mound and threw five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out four.
Ohtani's Historic Start
According to MLB. com, Ohtani lowered his ERA to an MLB-best 0.73 across eight starts this season.
Researcher Sarah Langs noted that this is the seventh-lowest ERA in Major League history through eight starts.
The Dodgers secured the three-game series win after bouncing back from a loss on Monday.
San Diego missed key scoring opportunities, notably in the fifth inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded against Ohtani.
Padres manager Craig Stammen acknowledged the team's struggles in clutch situations.
"We were ready for a test," Stammen said. "It's always fun to battle against the best.
We battled as tough as we could, [but] came out on the short end of the stick."
Stammen added that the team lacked execution during critical plate appearances with runners in scoring position.
"We definitely had some opportunities to break it open. … We've got to come up with a hit in that situation, or a good at-bat.
And we just weren't able to tonight," Stammen said.
Regarding Tatis, who has yet to hit a home run this season, Stammen noted the pressure the young star is facing.
"He's working every day to try to figure that out," Stammen said. "[It's] natural for anyone to press when they're trying to get out of a slump."
Padres starter Randy Vasquez limited the damage to three runs over 4 1/3 innings despite allowing hard contact early.
"After that first pitch to Ohtani, I felt like I was able to keep my plan of attack," Vasquez said through an interpreter.
The Dodgers had previously rested Ohtani from the batting lineup during his prior three pitching starts to manage his workload before reinstating him as a full two-way player for Wednesday's contest.
