Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer and Teoscar Hernandez homered with a three-run shot in the first inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to their seventh win in eight games, a 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.
Emmett Sheehan (2-0) pitched six innings of four-hit ball with six strikeouts for the defending World Series champion Dodgers, whose 11-3 start is the best in the majors. Will Smith reached base four times and scored two runs.
Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff homer, another two-run shot and a double for the Rangers, who have lost six of nine at Dodger Stadium. The rest of Texas managed only one hit, a sixth-inning single by Josh Jung.
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani crushes leadoff homer to tie score against Rangers
Sheehan excelled against nearly every Texas hitter except Nimmo, who launched his second pitch 405 feet to dead center for the 15th leadoff homer of the longtime Mets slugger’s career.
Ohtani responded with a blast to right field moments later for his first homer at Chavez Ravine this season, also extending his on-base streak to 45 games. The four-time MVP has four home runs in eight games after starting the season with a six-game homer drought.
Five batters later, Hernandez hit a big shot to left that drove home Smith and Freddie Freeman, his third of the season.
Jack Leiter (1-1) gave up five runs on five hits and four walks while failing to get an out in the fourth inning for Texas.
Nimmo’s two-run shot in the sixth cut LA’s lead to 5–3 and secured his first multi-homer game for his new team.
Hernandez doubled and scored on Andy Paige’s single in the eighth.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not allow a ninth inning to new closer Edwin Diaz, who gave up a three-run home run in Friday’s win. Blake Treinen allowed two baserunners and struck out two before Alex Vescia got his first save by striking out Danny Johnson.
Ahead
RHP Jacob deGrom (0-0, 3.72 ERA) will start the series finale for Texas on Sunday against RHP Roky Sasaki (0-1, 7.00).
Reporting by the Associated Press.
