Shohei Ohtani hit a home run and finished with three RBI in his Los Angeles Dodgers Spring Training debut, and they came from behind late for a 9-6 win against Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers are yet to lose in Cactus League play this year, sitting at 5-0-1.
After striking out in his first at-bat, Ohtani pulled the Dodgers even by driving in a run despite grounding into a double play in the third inning.
The White Sox pulled back ahead in the fourth but Ohtani drew the Dodgers closer in the bottom of the fifth by going the other way for a two-run homer that cut their deficit to 4-3. Last season, just two of his American League-leading 44 home runs were to the opposite field.
Ohtani finished 1-for-3 with three RBI in his Dodgers Spring Training debut. While it was an exciting performance, the more encouraging aspect for the Dodgers is that Ohtani continues to feel healthy and remains on track to be in the lineup for Opening Day in Korea.
Even with Ohtani’s contributions, the Dodgers trailed heading into the bottom of the seventh. They managed to tie the game thanks to Chris Okey’s RBI single and Ryan Ward’s ground-rule double that brought in Hunter Feduccia. Ward leads the Dodgers this spring with five RBI.
Drew Avans’ sacrifice fly in the eighth inning gave L.A. their first lead of the game and Okey extended it with a three-run homer.
Dodgers lineup order with Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani’s first game with the Dodgers saw him batting second, sandwiched between leadoff hitter Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in the three-hole.
Freeman has spent the bulk of his first two seasons with the Dodgers batting second in the lineup, but appears primed for a return to third. Freeman had previously indicated he was not concerned about the Dodgers lineup order.
Bobby Miller’s first start
Ohtani’s debut overshadowed Bobby Miller also getting into his first Cactus League action of the year. Miller navigated some traffic in the opening frame but minimized damage and got through two innings on 29 pitches with just one run allowed.
Michael Grove is being stretched out as a starter but appeared in relief on Tuesday. He surrendered a three-run homer and pitched 1.1 innings.
Gavin Stone also is on a starter’s progression but he too entered out of the bullpen against the White Sox. Stone allowed one run and collected two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work.
Blake Treinen stranded a leadoff single in the sixth and had a sharp slider in his first 2024 Spring Training game.
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