Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a home run on the first pitch from Jacob deGrom, but the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 5-2 to the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. It marked the second straight day Ohtani homered to start a Dodgers inning. DeGrom settled in after the blast to pitch six strong innings.
One pitch was all it took for Shohei Ohtani to damage the Texas Rangers. The Dodgers' two-way star crushed a 97.9 mph four-seamer from Jacob deGrom into the Right Field Pavilion seats, his fifth home run of the season and the second consecutive leadoff homer. Ohtani, who had never faced the two-time Cy Young winner before, extended his Major League-leading on-base streak to 46 games, one shy of Ron Cey's Dodgers record from 1975-76. The blast traveled at 108.3 mph off the bat, putting the Dodgers ahead early in Sunday's series finale. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised the at-bat: “I liked the first at-bat. Jacob, when he's right, he's one of the best in baseball. So, yeah, I thought Shohei took a couple good at-bats today.” DeGrom rebounded strongly, striking out nine over six innings while allowing four singles after Ohtani's homer and three walks, including an intentional one to Ohtani in the fifth. He topped 98.6 mph on his fastball, generating 15 whiffs with five strikeouts on his slider. Career-wise against the Dodgers, deGrom now holds a 2.35 ERA in 15 starts with 105 strikeouts. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker noted pregame the value of starting deGrom: “You love having a guy like [deGrom]... It can either help you win the series, or it can help you salvage a series.” Texas collected double-digit hits and walks, with Evan Carter hitting a solo home run and drawing two walks, while Josh Smith drove in a run. The victory prevented a sweep after the Rangers lost the first two games of their road trip.
