Shohei Ohtani hit a home run in his first at-bat Friday, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 12-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The two-way star, who turned down the Blue Jays and a number of other clubs in the offseason to sign his record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, was met with boos from the crowd at the Rogers Center.
Outstanding baseball from Ohtani crowned with a home run
He wasted no time in putting the visitors on the road to victory in the series opener, hitting Toronto starter Chris Bassitt’s third pitch (2-4) for a solo home run deep over the right field wall.
“Regardless of the boos, it didn’t have the impact I expected,” Ohtani said. “I was hoping it would be received. It was close, but I’m glad it worked out.”
The home run was Ohtani’s first in three games and his seventh of the season. According to MLB.com, he is tied with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts as the player with the most home runs for the club who was born in Japan.
Max Muncy and Will Smith also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who have won five straight and lead the National League West.
In the MLB, Shota Imanaga continued his outstanding rookie campaign by leading the Chicago Cubs to a 7-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
The Japanese left-hander struck out seven strikes and allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk in an MLB career-high 6-1/3 innings at Fenway Park.
Imanaga improved to 4-0 in his first five starts for Chicago, leaving the mound with a 0.98 ERA. In 27-2/3 innings, he posted 28 strikeouts and allowed just three walks.
The former DeNA BayStars ace said he had good results when he made small changes to his mechanics at the start of the game.
“I had some ideas two days ago, including how to shift my body weight, and that worked well,” he said. “I am grateful to my teammates for giving me a head start that allowed me to pitch comfortably.
2024-04-28 16:09:00
#Dodgers #win #Blue #Jays
