Shohei Ohtani reaches 3 times in home debut as the Dodgers rout the Cardinals 7-1
Shohei Ohtani reached three times in his home debut for the Dodgers, and Los Angeles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 in the Dodger Stadium opener to a season of sky-high expectations
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani reached three times in his home debut for the Dodgers, and Los Angeles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Thursday in the Dodger Stadium opener to a season of sky-high expectations.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman homered in the third inning, and Tyler Glasnow pitched six innings of two-hit ball for the Dodgers. One week after Los Angeles began the season with two games in South Korea, the club showed off the talent throughout an expensive, star-studded roster headlined by three former MVPs at the top of the batting order.
No addition was bigger than Ohtani, who showed no signs of distraction after a tumultuous week in which he emphatically denied betting on sports after the firing of his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
After receiving a standing ovation from the raucous sellout crowd of 52,667, Ohtani doubled in his first official at-bat at Chavez Ravine since agreeing to his record 10-year, $700 million contract. The two-time AL MVP followed with a walk and a single as the Dodgers' designated hitter.
