SAN DIEGO — He led off with a home run. He took the ball and shut down a lineup that had given the Dodgers trouble all series. And when Los Angeles needed an escape in the fifth with runners moving and the crowd looking for something to hold onto, Shohei Ohtani got himself out of it. The Dodgers blanked the Padres 4-0 on Wednesday night at Petco Park to take the series, and Ohtani was the reason from the first pitch to the last.
It started before he ever threw a pitch. Ohtani dug in to lead off the top of the first and sent a ball into the center field seats for his eighth home run of the season. The Padres had not recorded a single out and Los Angeles was already ahead. That kind of moment sets a tone, and this one held all the way to the ninth inning.
Ohtani on the Mound, Ohtani in the Moment
On the mound, Ohtani was in control from the start. The Padres went three up, three down in the first, three up, three down in the second, and three up, three down in the third. San Diego could not find a rhythm against him. Every time they put together a first or second baserunner, nothing followed. The Petco crowd was waiting for a spark that never came.
The fifth inning was the closest the Padres got. Bryce Johnson, a defensive replacement in center, lined a single to left and Castellanos followed with another single to put runners at first and third with nobody out. The lead was three, but Petco was suddenly paying attention. Ohtani did not flinch. He got Laureano to ground into a forceout, watched Laureano steal second to put two runners in scoring position, then issued a walk to load the bases.
The moment was real. Then Tatis hit a grounder right back to the middle, Mookie Betts fielded it, and the Dodgers turned an inning-ending double play before the inning could become anything more than a footnote. Ohtani walked off the field and San Diego’s best threat of the night was over.
He was lifted after five innings with the lead intact and the game exactly where the Dodgers needed it.
Freeman Sets the Table, Teoscar Drives the Knife In
Freddie Freeman has not stopped hitting. He doubled in the first, his 12th of the season, and doubled again in the third for his 13th, putting together another multi-hit night in what has become a consistent stretch for the Dodgers first baseman. He did not drive in a run on either double, but he kept pressure on San Diego starter Randy Vasquez and forced the Padres to work harder than they wanted to in the early innings.
The second run came in the second inning, quiet and efficient. Max Muncy led off with a double, Will Smith singled him to third, and Teoscar Hernandez lifted a sacrifice fly to right to make it 2-0. The Dodgers were not swinging for a big inning. They were just adding to the ledger.
Wandy Peralta came on for Vasquez in the fifth and Kyle Tucker wasted no time. He singled to right and scored Ohtani, who had reached on a walk and moved to third on a Freeman groundout. Three runs, five innings, and the Padres bullpen was already in the game. It was not the position San Diego wanted to be in.
Teoscar Hernandez put an end to any remaining doubt in the ninth, launching his sixth home run of the season to left center to make it 4-0. It was the kind of insurance swing that turns a win into a statement.
The Bullpen Holds the Fort, Klein Closes the Door
After Tuesday night required five arms, two reviews, and a bang-bang play at the plate to get through, Wednesday’s bullpen work was a different kind of performance entirely. Edgardo Henriquez came on in the sixth and retired Andujar, Sheets, and Machado in order. Blake Treinen handled the seventh cleanly. The game felt locked.
The eighth inning gave the Padres their last real opening. Kyle Hurt came on and Laureano immediately lined a single to right. Tatis followed with a soft grounder to third that Max Muncy booted, putting two runners on with one out. The threat was alive. Hurt needed a big pitch. He got it. Andujar hit into a 6-4-3 double play, Betts to Kim to Freeman, and the inning was over before it could turn into anything. That was the ballgame.
Will Klein closed it in the ninth. Sheets flew out, Machado struck out swinging, Bogaerts lined out to center. Three up, three down. Dodgers win the series.
Up Next
Los Angeles heads to Milwaukee for a three-game series against the Brewers beginning Friday night at American Family Field. Justin Wrobleski gets the ball for the Dodgers in the opener, with the Brewers countering with Kyle Henderson.
