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There are no dull games when the Los Angeles Dodgers are involved this season and it turned out to be the case once again on Friday night when the NL West leaders hosted rivals San Diego Padres at the Dodger Stadium.
Padres superstar Manny Machado put his team in front with a two-run dinger against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the first inning. However, the hosts didn't waste any time getting off the mark either as two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani dispatched his 175th homer of his MLB career to bring the Dodgers back in the game.
The visiting team fired back in the second innings after Ha-Seong Kim's solo effort. But the hosts replied instantly once more with Max Muncy's third home run of the season. With the Dodgers just one run behind their rivals, the red-hot Mookie Betts pumped a three-run homer in the same inning to put his team ahead.
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This was Betts' sixth home run of the season, tying him with Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout at the top of the home run charts this season.
A four-run second innings handed the Dodgers an electric start to the game and Teoscar Hernandez joined the party soon after with a two-run home run to continue his impressive start to the 2024 season.
The Dodgers are 10-5 for the season so far, showing early signs of a strong season ahead that Ohtani, Betts and Co. will hope leads to postseason success.
Shohei Ohtani's milestone hit sparks Dodgers' fightback against Padres
While Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers tenure has been marred by controversy in recent weeks after his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara's betting saga took center stage, the Japanese superstar has not let the gambling scandal affect his game.
The two-time MVP's fourth home run of the season in the first inning to spark his team's comeback was his 175th in the MLB, drawing him level with New York Yankees legend Hideki Matsui for the most home runs by a Japanese player in the division.
For the uninitiated, Ohtani has mentioned his admiration for the former World Series MVP several times, and his interaction with Matsui in the documentary "Shohei Ohtani: Beyond The Dream" further captures the two-way phenom's respect for his compatriot.
