Mookie Betts #50 hugs Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2024 Seoul Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres at Gocheok Sky Dome on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Photo by Yuki Taguchi/MLB Photos via Gett … (Getty Images)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Shohei 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 season opener as the game turned when a routine grounder went through the webbing of first baseman Jake Cronenworth.
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Ohtani went 2 for 5 in his first game since leaving the Los Angeles Angels for a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. A crowd of 15,952 was on hand to watch at the Gocheok Sky Dome for Major League Baseball’s first game in South Korea.
The two-way star, limited to batting following elbow surgery, also had a mental error that caused the final out of the eighth. He was called out when he passed second base and then failed to retouch the bag while retreating on Freddie Freeman’s flyout, causing an inning-ending double play.
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A bomb threat did not seem to affect pregame preparations. Police found no explosives and said they acted on a tip that the threat was against Ohtani.
San Diego led 2-1 entering the eighth when Max Muncy led off with a walk against Wandy Peralta. Teoscar Hernández, also making his Dodgers debut, singled off Jhony Brito (0-1), among the players the Padres obtained in the trade that sent star Juan Soto to the New York Yankees.