Ohtani’s record-breaker, Pages’ first and Glasnow’s start make it a complete game
by Christian Romo
Shohei Ohtani stands alone in the record book, and shares the stage with some powerful peers.
Ohtani sent an Adrian Houser pitch 423 feet into the Right Field Pavilion in the third inning for a two-run home run — his fifth of the season — breaking the scoreless tie and giving the Dodgers their first lead of the series against the New York Mets. His 176th career home run passed Hideki Matsui for most home runs by a Japanese-born player in MLB history, and it also helped ignite a sputtering Dodger offense.
Dodger batters put up double-digit runs for the second time this season as the Dodgers beat the Mets 10–0 Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, with Ohtani going 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk. He tied Matsui’s record with his 175th career home run on April 12 against the San Diego Padres, going eight games before finally breaking the career mark.
“Honestly, I’m relieved and happy,” Ohtani said. “I know it took a while to get to this point since my last homer.”
He followed up his record-breaking home run with a single to load the bases in the fifth inning following an RBI single from shortstop Mookie Betts. He found himself on third base five pitches later thanks to a two-run double from Freddie Freeman — one of two doubles on Sunday from the first baseman — and he touched home plate two pitches later on catcher Will Smith’s two-run double.
It was all part of an eight-run fifth inning — the most runs the Dodgers have scored in an inning this year — with Ohtani in the middle of the offensive barrage.
Ohtani has four home runs and 10 extra-base hits in his last 15 games, slashing .431/.493/.855/1.348 with nine RBI in that span. His .368 batting average leads all Major League hitters, while his 1.094 OPS stands behind only Betts’ 1.103.
Ohtani has been one of baseball’s elite sluggers for the last four seasons. But his record-breaking home run on Sunday gives him another distinction — perhaps the greatest Major League slugger his home country has ever produced.
Ohtani has talked about lofty career aspirations, but said he didn’t consider Matsui’s record a goal when entering MLB in 2018.
“It’s not something I was cognizant of when I first started my career here, but as I’ve gotten to know where he was, yes (it’s been a goal),” he said.
Another Dodger power threat emerged on Sunday.
Rookie outfielder Andy Pages, playing in his fifth Major League game, displayed the power that brought him up to the big leagues on Tuesday.
Pages led off the fifth inning with a double down the left-field line — his second of the season — kicking off the team’s eight-run fifth inning. He got another turn at bat later in the frame, punctuating the inning with a three-run home run, the first of his Major League career.
“It’s very exciting, obviously, to hit a home run against the best players in the world. It’s very special,” Pages said.
Pages recorded two hits in 16 plate appearances in his first four games entering Sunday. He worked on swing mechanics in the clubhouse before the game with outfielder Tesoscar Hernández, saying that he sought out advice from players who have years of experience against Major League pitching.
The fixes seemed to work. His two extra-base hits raised his OPS to .800, while he led all players with three RBI on Sunday.
Dodger manager Dave Roberts praised not just the offense, but all aspects of his team’s performance on Sunday.
“It’s the first complete baseball game I can recall (this season),” he said. “We were clean defensively, I thought the at-bats throughout the game, especially the guys at the bottom of the order — they did a fantastic job leading into the top part of the order and scoring some runs.”
Glasnow matches a career high
Dodger starter Tyler Glasnow played a big role in halting the team’s three-game losing streak, matching a career high with eight scoreless innings while giving up zero walks and striking out 10 batters.
Glasnow said he felt better physically than he did his previous two starts and didn’t put too much pressure on himself in the midst of the team’s struggles.
“I wasn’t ever super worried about it,” Glasnow said. “We all know how talented our team is. It’s obviously important, but I think with it being this early in the year, I was never too worried about us not hitting for the rest of the year. I knew it was going to come back eventually.”
Glasnow’s eight innings granted a heavily-used Dodger bullpen some needed rest.
“Starting pitchers that have been around, they understand what’s at stake when they take the baseball that particular start,” Roberts said. “And today we were in the middle of it as far as workload with the (bullpen) recently. And going into an off day to give our guys a chance to reset was huge.”
What’s next
The Dodgers (13–11) begin a three-game series at Washington on Tuesday at 3:45 PT, with lefties James Paxton and Patrick Corbin scheduled to face off.
