Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over a season-best five innings and singled to start a four-run fourth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers finished off a three-game sweep of the visiting Cincinnati Reds with a 5-1 victory on Wednesday.
Ohtani (1-1) gave up one run on two hits and earned a win from the mound for the first time since Aug. 9, 2023, as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander varied his arsenal by throwing 23 curveballs after throwing just 11 over his first 10 starts this season.
Enrique Hernandez and rookie Dalton Rushing each had two-run singles, while Michael Conforto hit a home run, as Los Angeles increased its home winning streak to six games while opening a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West.
Noelvi Marte hit a home run for the Reds, while left-hander Nick Lodolo (8-7), a Los Angeles-area native, gave up four runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings with six strikeouts in his first career start at Dodger Stadium.
Cincinnati went 3-6 over a key three-city nine-game road trip that closed with six losses in the last seven games. The Reds dropped 4 1/2 games out of the final NL wild-card spot.
Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Marte hit a home run to left-center off Ohtani, his 11th of the season.
Ohtani’s single to lead off the fourth inning was followed by bloop singles from Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages to load the bases. Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run single in his second game since returning from a left elbow injury, and Rushing added his two-run single after Miguel Rojas was intentionally walked.
The Reds had a prime scoring chance in the seventh inning after loading the bases against left-hander Justin Wrobleski, before Marte grounded out to end the threat.
Conforto, who had a rare start against a left-handed starter in Lodolo, hit his home run in the eighth against lefty Brent Suter. It was his first homer against a lefty and his 10th overall this season.
Five Dodgers pitchers combined for a season-high 19 strikeouts.
