Shohei Ohtani homers twice to set tone for struggling Dodgers

BALTIMORE — Coming off an excruciating defeat that stretched their losing streak to five games, the Los Angeles Dodgers desperately needed a spark in the finale of a horrid East Coast trip.

Shohei Ohtani immediately delivered, sending the second pitch of Sunday’s game against the Orioles into the right-field seats. The Dodgers’ standout leadoff hitter tacked on another solo shot in the third inning for his 48th home run of the season, and that was enough to propel Los Angeles to a much-needed 5-2 victory.

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“Obviously, Shohei starting the game off with a homer was huge,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You could see the life in the dugout.”

Less than 24 hours earlier, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within one out of a no-hitter before Jackson Holliday homered to ignite a four-run ninth inning that resulted in a 4-3 defeat for Los Angeles.

And so, a trip that began with three straight defeats against last-place Pittsburgh had evolved into a five-game skid that included two ninth-inning setbacks.

“We don’t lose a whole lot around here,” said lefty Clayton Kershaw, who struck out eight in 5⅔ innings. “It’s not something you get used to, but when it does happen, baseball’s not as much fun.”

Boy, did the Dodgers need a win Sunday. And they got it, with Ohtani setting the tone right at the outset.

“Anytime you get on the board early, it’s huge,” Kershaw said. “It’s a good reset from last night, too, a quick 1-0 lead for us. That was nice.”

Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting one of his two home runs against the Orioles on Sunday. Getty Images

And now the Dodgers head home still in the first place in the NL West. Ohtani played a huge part — he also walked three times — but Mookie Betts went deep and Kershaw did his part by winning his sixth straight decision.

“It was great. Shohei was on base five times and Mookie has really been swinging the bat well,” Roberts said. “Across the board, I liked the energy and I liked the way we played. Even the guys on the bottom [of the lineup] did their job today.”

It had to make the trip back to Los Angeles a lot more tolerable.

“It’s not a surprise how we responded. There was no panic,” Roberts said. “Our guys weren’t downtrodden. We were kind of up, looking forward to playing a game and winning a game. That’s a tell that we have confidence still in the room.”

With a smile, Roberts added: “It speaks to the character, and certainly, when you get Shohei and Mookie doing what they’re doing, that’s helpful, too.”