WASHINGTON – Shohei Ohtani homered and drove in the go-ahead run as the Los Angeles Dodgers overcame a costly outing from Roki Sasaki to beat the Washington Nationals 8-6 and sweep their three-game series on Sunday.
Making his second start of the season, Sasaki gave up a career-high six earned runs but persevered through five innings to limit the burden on the Los Angeles bullpen.
He surrendered a two-run home run to Luis Garcia Jr in the third and a three-run blast to James Wood the following inning.
The 24-year-old right-hander did not factor in the decision after leaving the mound with the Dodgers down 6-1, having struck out five while allowing five hits and three walks.
“I struggled in the later part because I couldn’t consistently throw my fastball and forkball effectively,” said Sasaki, who conceded his splitter in the middle of the zone to Wood had been “simply too easy to hit.”
“I want to play the way I’m capable of playing,” he said.
Ohtani broke the ice in the top of the third with his second home run of the season, a solo shot that soared an estimated 438 feet over center field off a cutter from former Yomiuri Giants left-hander Foster Griffin.
The Dodgers rallied ahead with four runs in the eighth inning, tying the game 6-6 on Kyle Tucker’s forceout before Ohtani plated the go-ahead run with his sacrifice fly. The two-way superstar finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
At Coors Field, Tomoyuki Sugano (1-0) earned his first win of the season for the Colorado Rockies after throwing six innings of one-run ball in which he struck out five, while allowing four hits and a walk in a 4-1 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Kodai Senga did not factor in the New York Mets’ 5-2 win against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park after allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over 5-2/3 innings, while striking out seven.