Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani delivered a dominant performance both on the mound and at the plate Wednesday, throwing six innings without surrendering a hit while launching a leadoff home run to power the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
The win marked the Dodgers’ fifth consecutive victory and capped off a three-game sweep of the visiting Rockies. Ohtani teamed up with Will Klein to keep Colorado hitless through seven complete innings before Tyler Freeman broke up the no-hit bid with a two-out single to right field in the eighth inning against reliever Tanner Scott.
Kyle Hurt sealed the combined one-hitter by retiring the side in order during the ninth inning, recording his first career save in the process.
For the second straight start as a pitcher, Ohtani began the game by taking the opposing starter deep with a leadoff blast. Freddie Freeman followed suit with another homer in the opening frame, while Andy Pages added his 13th home run of the season during the eighth inning.
Despite struggling with his control throughout the outing, Ohtani (5-2) managed to limit the damage while walking four batters, hitting one, and allowing a single run. The right-hander fanned seven Colorado hitters across 99 pitches, seeing his season earned run average climb slightly from 0.73 to 0.82.
Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano (4-4) surrendered three runs on six hits during his 4 2/3-inning stint in the matchup between Japanese-born pitchers. He recorded three strikeouts and issued one walk. Colorado managed to score its only run in the fourth inning when Willi Castro drove home a runner with a groundout, but the team extended its losing streak to five games.
Following the early 2-0 advantage created by the Ohtani and Freeman long balls, the Rockies cut their deficit in half during the fourth inning. Los Angeles responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame when Alex Call delivered an RBI single to restore the two-run cushion.
Pages’ eighth-inning blast, his third homer in four games, provided the final margin at 4-1. The Dodgers connected for eight home runs over the series’ final two contests while improving to 12-2 in their last 14 games overall.
Los Angeles showcased exceptional defense with three standout plays throughout the contest. Call made a spectacular diving grab in right field during the second inning, while second baseman Alex Freeland dove toward first base to record the out on Castro’s RBI grounder in the fourth. Left fielder Hyeseong Kim capped the defensive highlights with a catch against the foul territory railing in the seventh.
Kim entered the game in the third inning after Teoscar Hernandez exited due to a left hamstring strain.
