AP Sports Writer Stephen Wade authored the following text:

SEOUL, South Korea

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a remarkable victory during their first game with the debut of Shohei Ohtani, on a night full of first-time moments.

Ohtani’s RBI single capped a four-run eighth-inning rally in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 in Wednesday night’s opener, Major League Baseball’s first game in South Korea.

“Shohei had a great night overall,” remarked Dave Roberts, the manager of the Dodgers. “In the grand scheme of things, it’s significant because we have such a rare talent on our team in a major market like Los Angeles. With the Dodgers and Major League Baseball, there is a larger audience watching.”

The momentum shifted when a standard ground ball passed through the web of first baseman Jake Cronenworth’s glove, resulting in the go-ahead run being scored.

In his initial game after departing from the Los Angeles Angels for a historic $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers, Ohtani delivered a hit and earned an RBI, going 2 for 5. A crowd of 15,952 was present at the Gocheok Sky Dome to witness the match.

Unfortunately, due to recovering from an elbow surgery, the dual-threat star was restricted to solely batting. Additionally, he made a mental mistake that resulted in the last out of the eighth inning. He ran past second base and neglected to touch it again while backtracking on Freddie Freeman’s flyout, leading to a double play and the end of the inning.

Preparations for the pregame were not affected by a bomb threat. After investigating, the police did not find any explosives and stated they acted upon a tip that Ohtani was the target of the threat.

The Padres’ pitchers gave up nine walks and hit one batter, while the Dodgers only managed to get seven hits, none of which were for extra bases.

San Diego was ahead 2-1 in the eighth inning when Max Muncy received a base on balls from Wandy Peralta. Teoscar Hernández, also playing in his first game with the Dodgers, got a single off Jhony Brito (0-1), who was part of the trade that sent star player Juan Soto to the New York Yankees.

James Outman reached first base and Kiké Hernández’s sacrifice fly resulted in a tied score. Adrián Morejón came in to pitch in relief, and Gavin Lux hit a grounder to Cronenworth who attempted to field it with a backhand. However, the ball slipped through the webbing of the first baseman’s glove.

Cronenworth expressed his disappointment, stating that the play could have occurred earlier but unfortunately occurred in that specific situation. He believed it would have been a routine double play.

Hernández came home for a 3-2 lead.

Roberts mentioned that it was a challenging mistake for Cro, but luckily it worked in our favor. It’s important to seize these opportunities when they come.

After Betts, Ohtani also had a RBI single.

Betts, Ohtani, and Freeman were the first players to be selected as MVPs and hit in the 1-2-3 spots of a baseball team’s batting order since 1983 when Philadelphia’s Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, and Mike Schmidt did it over a span of 10 games. The only other occurrences were achieved by the Cincinnati Big Red Machine with Rose, Morgan, and George Foster on May 13, 1978, and Rose, Morgan, and Johnny Bench on May 5, 1976.

This season, Betts played shortstop and teamed up with Ohtani to achieve a combined record of 4 hits in 9 at-bats at the top of the lineup.

Daniel Hudson (1-0), the third of five Dodgers pitchers, threw a one-hit seventh. Evan Phillips pitched a perfect ninth for the save, finishing a four-hitter that gave the Dodgers their sixth straight win over the Padres in an opener.

With new wife Mamiko Tanaka watching from the strands, Ohtani got his first hit with the Dodgers in a 112.3 mph single to right against Yu Darvish. Ohtani was at the plate in the first when Mookie Betts tried to steal second but was sent back because of umpire interference by Lance Barksdale on Luis Campusano behind the plate.

In the third inning, Xander Bogaerts gave the Padres the lead by hitting a single off of Tyler Glasnow. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Bogaerts is only the third player to have hits in five different countries, following Edgardo Alfonzo and Paul Goldschmidt. Bogaerts has also recorded hits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and England.

In the fourth inning, Jason Heyward hit a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the same inning, San Diego regained the lead when Campusano hit a ground ball double play that resulted in a run being scored.

Glasnow allowed two runs, two hits, and four walks in the span of five innings, throwing a total of 77 pitches. The Los Angeles team acquired him from Tampa Bay in December and signed the 30-year-old right-hander to a deal worth $136.5 million for a period of five years.

Glasnow described the entire day as being a struggle, stating that the atmosphere was loud and cool.

Darvish gave up a run that was not earned and allowed two hits in 3 and 2/3 innings.

In the second inning, Muncy had the first hit of the season by lining a single through the center with the end of his bat.

Entering his twelfth year, Bogaerts debuted in the major leagues as second baseman while Ha-Seong Kim shifted to the role of shortstop.

During the latest MLB game, the pitch clock was reduced from 20 to 18 seconds when runners were on base. The Padres’ pitchers were penalized a total of four times for violating this new rule – two by Peralta, one by Darvish, and another by Yuki Matsui.

In the sixth inning of the Padres’ game, Matsui, the fourth of eight pitchers for San Diego, recorded two outs. He signed a five-year contract worth $28 million.

Ha-Seong Kim, hailing from San Diego, had no hits in three at-bats but did manage to draw a walk while playing in his home country.

TRAINER’S ROOM

The Los Angeles Dodgers recently made some roster changes, putting four right-handed pitchers on the 10-day injured list. Walker Buehler, Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen, and Emmet Sheehan all have various injuries that require time off. In their place, Triple-A pitcher Landon Knack was called up to join the team.

The San Diego Padres announced that pitchers Glenn Otto (strained right teres major) and Luis Patiño (inflamed right elbow) have been moved to the 15-day injured list, while infielder Tucupita Marcano (undergoing ACL surgery on his right knee on Aug. 9) has been placed on the 10-day IL.

UP NEXT

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a right-handed pitcher, will be making his debut in Major League Baseball for the Dodgers. He signed a contract worth $325 million for a duration of 12 years. During the three spring training games, he had an 8.38 earned run average over 9 and two-thirds innings. Through a translator, he stated, “I am not focused on the statistics.” On the opposing team, Joe Musgrove, a right-handed pitcher, will be starting for the Padres. He had a record of 10 wins and 3 losses with a 3.05 ERA in 17 starts last season.

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Source: wralsportsfan.com