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.
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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."
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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.
