March 20 (UPI) — Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers offense warmed up late with a four-run eighth inning — and needed a little luck — to edge the San Diego Padres 5-2 in the first game of the 2024 MLB season Wednesday in Seoul.
Ohtani, who made his Dodgers regular-season debut, went 2 for 5 with an RBI and stolen base. Shortstop Mookie Betts went 2 for 4 with an RBI in the victory.
Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow — another major off-season signing — allowed two hits and two runs over five innings, but was not on record for a decision.
“The biggest thing is that we got that W and the way we got it,” Ohtani told reporters, according to MLB.com. “Coming back late in the game like that proves that we’re a really good team.”
The game between the National League West rivals is part of a two-part Seoul Series, while MLB’s other 28 teams remain active in spring training. The final game of the series will be Thursday on the same field at Gocheok Sky Dome.
“It was a really cool experience,” Glasnow said at his postgame news conference. “It was super unique. I’m glad we got to get a win. I’m just glad it didn’t spiral out. … It’s cool to get the first win here.”
Neither team logged a hit in the first inning in front of the nearly 16,000 fans in attendance Wednesday in South Korea’s capital city.
The Padres ended the deadlock in the third, when second baseman Xander Bogaerts plated third baseman Tyler Wade with a line drive single to center field.
Dodgers right fielder Jason Heyward tied the score with an RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth. The Padres went ahead for the second time when designated hitter Manny Machado scored while catcher Luis Campusano grounded into a double play in the bottom of the fourth.
The Dodgers threatened with two baserunners in the fifth and one in the sixth and seventh, but could not level the score into their eighth-inning outburst.
Glasnow retired the Padres in order in the fifth, but was replaced in the sixth. Relief pitchers Ryan Brasier, Daniel Hudson, Joe Kelly and Evan Phillips allowed just two hits, while not issuing a walk or surrendering a run, over the final four innings.
Padres relief pitcher Wandy Peralta walked Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy to start the eighth. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez followed with a single to center off Padres reliever Jhony Brito, sending Muncy to second.
Brito followed with a four-pitch walk of Dodgers center fielder James Outman. Muncy then came in to score the game-tying run on a sacrifice fly from outfielder Enrique Hernandez.
The Dodgers caught a lucky break en route to the go-ahead run.
Second baseman Gavin Lux started that play when he chopped an Adrian Morejon sinker between first and second base. Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth went to field the ball, but it went through a gap of webbing in his glove and rolled into the outfield, allowing Teoscar Hernandez to score from second base.
The @Dodgers score a pair to take the lead in the 8th! #SeoulSeries pic.twitter.com/C5XG7P8fEh— MLB (@MLB) March 20, 2024
Betts swatted a ground-ball single to left three pitches later for a 4-2 Dodgers lead. Ohtani hit the next pitch to left, plating Lux for the final run of the game. Kelly and Phillips then took the mound and held back the Padres offense over the final two innings.
“I thought Tyler kept his wits about him and kept us in the ballgame,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The offense came alive at the end. It was a good ballgame. I expect more games like this.”
Bogaerts went 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Padres. Padres starter Yu Darvish allowed two hits and a run, while issuing three walks and three strikeouts, over 3 2/3 innings. He was not on record for a decision.
Ohtani, who underwent elbow surgery in September and will not pitch this season, recorded the hardest hit of the game. His third-inning single off Darvish traveled 112.3 mph off his bat, according to Statcast.
Game 2 will air at 6:05 a.m. EDT Thursday on ESPN. Joe Musgrove is expected to start for the Padres. Fellow right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who signed a $325 million deal in December — will start for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers will resume spring training against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in Los Angeles. The Padres will host the Seattle Mariners in a spring training game Monday in San Diego.
All 30 MLB teams will be in action March 28 for a league-wide opening day. The New York Mets will host the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of that day at 1:10 p.m. in Queens.
