Baseball

Shohei Ohtani Homers Twice as Dodgers Sweep Braves with 5-1 Win

AP Photo/Ashley Landis
Top: Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Los Angeles, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mookie Betts also scored.
Bottom: Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Los Angeles, Sunday, May 5, 2024.

10:31 JST, May 6, 2024

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani went 4 for 4 with two home runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon to sweep the three-game series.

Ohtani launched a hanging curveball from Braves started Max Fried 412 feet over the center field fence for a two-run homer in the first inning. He added a pair of singles in the third and the sixth before leading off the eighth inning with a 464-foot blast off reliever A.J. Minter deep into the left center field bleachers.

“He just keeps doing things that we just hadn’t seen haven’t seen before,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s deep. People don’t hit the ball out there, whether you’re left-handed or right-handed.”

It was Ohtani’s first multihomer game with the Dodgers and the 17th of his career. His four hits also tied a career high. He is now tied for the major league lead with 10 home runs this season.

“I just feel like we’re overall playing really well,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “So that’s really helping me have quality at-bats. Just feeling good overall.”

AP Photo/Ashley Landis
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates with third base coach Dino Ebel, left, after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Los Angeles, Sunday, May 5, 2024.

Teoscar Hernandez added a two-run homer and James Paxton took a shutout into the seventh inning for the Dodgers. Paxton (4-0) finished with 6 2/3 innings pitched, five hits and one run allowed, two walks and three strikeouts to remain unbeaten on the season.

Paxton retired 16 of his first 18 batters to open the game and delivered his longest start since June 30 with Boston.

“I felt great,” Paxton said. “I finally felt some rhythm out there. I’ve been working hard between games here trying to figure it out. Just feels good to make some progress.”

Marcell Ozuna homered for the Braves, who have lost five of their last six. Fried (2-1) pitched seven innings, allowed four hits and four runs, walked three and struck out seven.

The Braves have scored three runs or less in six of their last eight games. They didn’t advance a runner past first base until Ozuna’s homer in the seventh.

“We’re in a little bit of an offensive rut, that’s all there is to it,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s one of those things where if we only go through it one time this year, we’ll be lucky.”

Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Dodgers in his first appearance since the 2022 postseason. Michael Grove retired the side in order in the ninth to wrap up the sweep.