Shohei Ohtanis two-way heroics lift Dodgers to series win over Padres

SAN DIEGO –– Shohei Ohtani raked at the start of the night.He roared when his outing as a pitcher was over.

Then, he and the Dodgers rolled to a series win in San Diego.Nearly a month removed from his last two-way start, the two-way star was at the center of it all Wednesday at Petco Park, lifting the Dodgers to a 4-0 rubber-match win over the Padres with a leadoff home run and five scoreless innings pitched.“He wants to win that Cy Young, he wants to help us win games, and he wants to be a really productive offensive player,” manager Dave Roberts said.“At this point in time, he’s doing all the above.”It had been a minute since the Dodgers could last say that about Ohtani.

During his uneven start to the year, he had battled both fatigue and an extended slump at the plate.That’s why, in his previous three pitching appearances, the four-time MVP had been held out of the Dodgers’ lineup as a hitter.The three times he did play both ways earlier this season, he went just 1-for-10 at the plate with no home runs.Wednesday, however, was closer to the version the Dodgers (31-19) witnessed last October, in Ohtani’s historic three-homer, 10-strikeout tour de force in the National League Championship Series.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story The stakes weren’t as high Wednesday.

But his performance was cut from the same cloth.He went deep on the first pitch of the game, jumping on an elevated fastball from Padres starter Randy Vásquez for a towering drive to straightaway center.Then, he produced his fifth start this season without an earned run, retiring the first nine batters he faced (albeit with an elevated pitch count) before working out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings.Neither Ohtani nor Roberts believed the 31-year-old right-h...