Shohei Ohtani hit a home run for the third consecutive game and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the visiting Miami Marlins on Monday for their fifth straight win.
Freddie Freeman, James Outman and Teoscar Hernandez also hit homers as the Dodgers improved to 4-0 on a six-game homestand. Los Angeles has 12 homers over its past three games and Ohtani has four in that span.
Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler made his first appearance since June 2022 after undergoing elbow surgery and he showed some rust. He gave three runs on six hits over four innings with no walks and four strikeouts.
Nick Gordon hit his fifth home run of the year for the Marlins. Right-hander Roddery Munoz (1-1) was touched for six runs on seven hits with four walks in 4 2/3 innings, his worst outing of his three career starts.
The Marlins, who had won four of their past six games, wasted little time getting to Buehler in the first inning. Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez each had RBI singles to give Miami a 2-0 lead.
The Dodgers answered just as quickly. Mookie Betts led off the bottom of the first with a walk and Ohtani followed with his 11th home run of the season. Freeman made it back-to-back shots with his third of the season to give Los Angeles a 3-2 lead.
Gordon added to Buehler’s rough outing with a home run to lead off the second inning and tie the score 3-3.
The Dodgers moved back ahead for good in the bottom of the second inning. Outman hit a two-run blast – – his third on the season and first since April 9 – – to put Los Angeles back in front. Hernandez hit his ninth homer of the season, a solo homer that increased the Dodgers’ lead to 6-3 in the third inning.
Despite losing late-inning relievers Evan Phillips and Joe Kelly to injuries in a span of two days, the Dodgers’ bullpen held the Marlins scoreless over the last five innings. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (3-1) followed Buehler with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Los Angeles left-hander Alex Vesia pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the year.