Ohtani goes deep to power Dodgers’ win
MINNEAPOLIS — Shohei Ohtani had two doubles and a home run — his third in five games — to tie his career high with three extra-base hits and power the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on Monday night.
James Outman hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith drove in runs, and Evan Phillips picked up his fourth save to fuel another smooth victory for Dodgers newcomer James Paxton (2-0), who flashed a wide smile when asked afterward about Ohtani’s impact.
“If he puts the barrel on the ball, it’s coming off at 105-plus. It’s pretty amazing, just how hard he swings and just how hard he hits the ball,” said Paxton, who gave up two runs in six innings. “I’m glad to have him on my side.”
Outman skied a full-count slider from Jay Jackson (0-1) over the 23-foot wall in right field to begin the seventh.
“It felt good to see a ball land,” said Outman, who was 4 for 34 until the homer.
Ohtani, who revealed in an afternoon interview session he’s been using a cricket-style bat with a paddle-like barrel for mechanical work before and during games.
The two-time MVP and two-continent superstar has clearly found his swing. Ohtani is 11 for 22 in his last five games with eight extrabase hits and five RBIS.
“After I saw Shohei get two hits, I was swinging the cricket bat,” Outman said.
The Twins have lost three straight games with a total of 12 hits.
■ Mets 8, Braves 7: At Atlanta, DJ Stewart hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning for
New York, which snapped Atlanta’s three-game winning streak on the night Atlanta celebrated the 50-year anniversary of Hank Aaron’s recordbreaking 715th homer.
■ Padres 9, Cubs 8: At San Diego, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a go-ahead, two-run home run with two outs in the eighth, two innings after San Diego scored seven runs and being down 8-0.
■ Yankees 7, Marlins 0: At New York, Juan Soto and Anthony Volpe each hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning for New York, which improved to 9-2 and matched the best 11-game start in team history.
■ Reds 10, Brewers 8: At Cincinnati, Elly De La Cruz hit his first two homers of the season, a massive 450-foot solo drive and a sinking liner that turned into his first career inside-the-park drive.
■ Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 5: At Denver, Charlie Blackmon hit a leadoff triple to score Ezequiel Tovar, ending a club-record 16-game streak in which the opponent scored first.
■ Pirates 7, Tigers 4: At Pittsburgh, Bryan Reynolds hit his 100th career home run to back Mitch Keller (1-1), who had nine strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.
■ Guardians 4, White Sox 0: At Cleveland, José Ramírez hit a two-run homer for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight, surpassing any winning streak in 2023.
■ Phillies 5, Cardinals 3: At St. Louis, Alec Bohm had an RBI double in the 10th inning for Philadelphia, which won for the third time in its last four games.
■ Angels 7, Rays 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Mike Trout hit his fifth homer and added an RBI triple for Los Angeles, which has won six of eight.
■ Blue Jays 5, Mariners 2: At Toronto, Davis Schneider hit a two-run single to back José Berríos (2-0), who pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings.
■ Astros 10, Rangers 5: At Arlington, Texas, Yordan Alvarez homered for the second game in a row and finished with three hits.
■ Nationals 8, Giants 1: At San Francisco, Lane Thomas hit a homer and finished with three hits and three RBIS.