LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani gave up his first home run of the season when Minnesota’s Byron Buxton took him deep. He promptly answered with a two-run shot of his own.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar left a breaking ball over the plate on his second pitch of the game and Buxton drove it 410 feet to the left field pavilion on Monday night. It was just the second time in six appearances as an opener this season that Ohtani has allowed a run.
Ohtani topped Buxton in the bottom of the inning. He blasted a two-run shot — his 35th of the season — 441 feet into centre field off David Festa, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead after Mookie Betts led off with a walk.
He struck out swinging in the third.
Ohtani is the first Dodgers pitcher to homer in the first inning since Rick Rhoden at Montreal in July 1977. He has homered in three straight games for the slumping Dodgers, who have lost six straight at home for the first time since September 2017.
Ohtani allowed one run and four hits in three innings. He struck out three and walked one on 46 pitches, 30 for strikes.
“I like the demeanour on the mound,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “What to improve on I think the only thing right now in this small sample is just to continue to build up. The fastball, strike-throwing, the secondaries are all in a good spot.”
Ohtani pitched three scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants in his previous mound start as he continues to work his way back from elbow surgery. He did not pitch at all last season, his first for the Dodgers.
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