Baseball

Ohtani Hits His 41th Homer, but Toronto Beats Dodgers 5-4 to Avoid Sweep

AP
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches his solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday in Los Angeles.

The Associated Press

10:28 JST, August 11, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani led off the game with his 41st homer, but Ernie Clement hit the tiebreaking homer leading off the ninth inning, and the AL-leading Toronto Blue Jays hung on to avoid a series sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

Mason Fluharty earned his first career save in spectacular fashion after replacing erratic Jays closer Jeff Hoffman in the ninth with the bases loaded and one out. The rookie left-hander struck out Ohtani with a full-count breaking ball before getting Mookie Betts on a game-ending grounder.

After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a tying homer and Addison Barger followed with a go-ahead shot for Toronto off struggling Blake Treinen in the eighth inning, Clement hit the first pitch from Alex Vesia (2-2) in the ninth into the left-field bleachers.

Hoffman (7-4) walked Freddie Freeman with the bases loaded to blow Toronto's lead in the eighth, and he walked three of the Dodgers' first four batters in the ninth.

Ohtani drove Eric Lauer’s fourth pitch 400 feet. The three-time MVP’s third homer in four games tied him with Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the NL lead.

Freeman also homered in the first.

Ohtani had two hits and was intentionally walked twice.

The Dodgers' bullpen wasted another strong start by Tyler Glasnow, who yielded two runs on four hits and four walks while pitching into the sixth and striking out eight. Glasnow's winless streak stretched to 10 starts since March 31 despite his 1.82 ERA since coming off the injured list.

Key moment

Guerrero and Barger homered on juicy, belt-high sweepers from Treinen, while Clement put a great swing on a well-thrown low slider from Vesia.

Key stat

Ohtani, who only became an everyday leadoff hitter after joining the Dodgers last season, has already hit 23 career homers to start a game, including an MLB-leading 11 this season.