LOS ANGELES (AP) — Teoscar Hernandez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the third inning, Shohei Ohtani went deep leading off the game on his second bobblehead night and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Ohtani singled and scored in the third and scored again in the fifth, giving the Japanese superstar a career-high 104 runs this season, bettering his mark of 103 set in 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels.
“Any big moment he seems to rise to the occasion,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Ohtani blasted his 42nd homer off Corbin Burnes (12-7) and stole his 41st and 42nd bases in pursuit of becoming the first major leaguer in history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. He has 14 stolen bases in August, the most by a Dodger in a month since his manager Roberts had 15 in March and April in 2004.
“We knew going into the game this was going to be a tough lineup and a tough pitcher to face,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “We collectively did very well against him.”
He and beloved dog Decoy — who appear together on the bobblehead — handled the ceremonial first pitch in front of a sellout crowd of 53,290. Upon Ohtani’s signal at home plate, the dog carried the ball in his mouth from the mound to the plate, where he and his owner shared a high five.
Trailing 3-1, the Dodgers rallied to score four runs and take a 5-3 lead in the third. Mookie Betts had a RBI single and Hernandez belted his 28th homer with two outs.
Baltimore cut it to 5-4 on Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI double into the right-field corner that chased Dodgers starter Walker Buehler in the fifth.
“I thought we had some good ABs early, didn’t do much from the middle of the game on offensively, but yeah, wasn’t our cleanest game,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.
