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Dodgers split series in Korea as Padres batter Yoshinobu Yamamoto
SEOUL — Off the field, Thursday was a nightmare for the Dodgers amid the Ippei Mizuhara/Shohei Ohtani gambling saga.
On the field, in the finale of their South Korean series against the San Diego Padres, things for the team didn’t go much better.
Star Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto flopped in his MLB debut, ringing in his record $325-million contract with a five-run outing that lasted just one inning.
VIDEO: Mookie Betts talks about his home run, Dodgers loss
Manny Machado crushes three-run homer to extend Padres’ lead
⚾ Padres 15, Dodgers 11 — FINAL
The Padres built their lead back up, and set a franchise mark in the process.
Facing J.P. Feyereisen, Fernando Tatis Jr. walked and Jake Cronenworth singled. Manny Machado smashed a 2-1 changeup to left to extend San Diego’s lead.
It’s the most runs the Padres have ever scored against the Dodgers, per SportsNet LA’s broadcast.
The Dodgers went down in order in the bottom of the inning off Padres closer Robert Saurez, who collected a four-out save.
Dodgers pull within a run in game that’s featured 30 hits
⚾ Padres 12, Dodgers 11 — End of the eighth inning
If you’re just waking up, you’ve missed a lot of offense. Feel free to scroll back through and get caught up. We’ll wait.
The Dodgers rallied for two more runs in their half of the eighth inning on a two-run base hit by Mookie Betts that scored James Outman and Jason Heyward with two outs. It was his fifth and sixth RBIs of the game on the heels of a two-run home run and a two-run double.
Per Dodger Insider, it is Betts’ first game with at least six RBIs since Sept. 12, 2017, when he was with the Red Sox. It’s his fourth such game of his career.
It set up a potential dramatic moment for Shohei Ohtani, but he swung at the first pitch and grounded out to first base to end the inning.
Padres retired in order in the eighth (no, really)
⚾ Padres 12, Dodgers 9 — Middle of the eighth inning
The Padres went 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth inning, the first time either team had gone in order in this game.
Ryan Yarbrough began the inning by retiring Eguy Rosario on a comebacker and striking out Jackson Merrill looking. He was lifted for right-hander J.P. Feyereisen, who worked a 1-2 count against Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts was then called for strike three on a pitch-clock violation to end the inning.
Final line for Yarbrough: 1.2 innings, one hit, one run, two walks, one strikeout on 38 pitches (21 for strikes).
Will Smith’s fourth hit of the game produces another run
⚾ Padres 12, Dodgers 9 — End of the seventh inning
Will Smith’s hot hitting continues, and Shohei Ohtani nearly gave the crowd a big thrill.
After Mookie Betts drew a one-out walk, Ohtani drove the first pitch from lefty reliever Yuki Matsui to right-center that Fernando Tatis Jr. caught at the warning track.
Freddie Freeman followed with a single — his first hit of the season — and then Smith dunked a single into center field to score Betts from second base. Max Muncy fouled out to first to end the inning.
As Dodger Insider noted, Smith had one four-hit game last season.
Padres tack on another run on Max Muncy error
⚾ Padres 12, Dodgers 8 — Middle of the seventh inning
Ryan Yarbrough came on in relief to start the inning and immediately ran into trouble.
Xander Bogaerts led off with a walk, and one out later, a single by Jake Cronenworth and walk by Manny Machado loaded the bases.
Ha-Seong Kim — still seeking his first hit of the series in his hometown — fouled out to Will Smith. Jose Azocar hit a grounder to the left of Max Muncy at third base, but Muncy could not come up with it as it bounded into left field, scoring Bogaerts. Luis Campusano flied out to center to end the inning.
Final line for Alex Vesia: One inning, one run, one walk, two strikeouts on 19 pitches (11 for strikes).
Padres get a run back, Dodgers go quietly in the sixth inning
⚾ Padres 11, Dodgers 8 — End of the sixth inning
Alex Vesia came on in relief for the Dodgers and was touched up for a run thanks to an RBI double by Luis Campusano.
The Dodgers mustered a two-out walk by James Outman but nothing else. According to the SportsNet LA broadcast, the Dodgers have yet to be retired in order in the first two games this season. The Dodgers have left nine on base so far in Thursday’s game.
Final line for Kyle Hurt: two innings, three hits, one run, one walk on 29 pitches (22 for strikes).
Mookie Betts two-run home run draws Dodgers closer
⚾ Padres 10, Dodgers 8 — End of the fifth inning
Mookie Betts has the Dodgers’ first home run of the 2024 season.
His one-out blast to left field scored Jason Heyward, who picked up his second hit of the game to lead off the inning against Padres reliever Michael King, who was in his second inning of work.
Shohei Ohtani lined out to right, Freddie Freeman walked and Will Smith struck out to end the inning.
Padres extend their lead on Jake Cronenworth RBI single
⚾ Padres 10, Dodgers 6 — Middle of the fifth inning
Kyle Hurt gave up a run in his second inning of work as the Padres stretched their lead.
Jackson Merrill led off the inning with a double off the top of the wall, just missing his first MLB home run on the heels of his first big-league hit.
After Xander Bogaerts grounded out, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth singled to bring Merrill around to score. Manny Machado grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Dodgers threaten but strand two more runners
⚾ Padres 9, Dodgers 6 — End of the fourth inning
The Dodgers threatened to cut into the Padres’ lead, but stranded two more runners against reliever Michael King.
With one out, Will Smith singled — his third hit of the game — and Max Muncy doubled, with Smith stopping at third. But Teoscar Hernández struck out looking and James Outman grounded out to second.
The Dodgers have left seven runners on base.
Kyle Hurt pitches a scoreless fourth inning for the Dodgers
⚾ Padres 9, Dodgers 6 — Middle of the fourth inning
Kyle Hurt worked around a leadoff walk to Ha-Seong Kim to keep the Padres off the board.
Hurt, a 25-year-old right-hander who was part of the Dylan Floro trade with the Marlins that also netted the Dodgers Alex Vesia, made his MLB debut last season pitching two scoreless innings in relief — coincidentally, against the Padres.
Michael Grove’s final line: two innings, five hits, four runs (three earned), two strikeouts on 40 pitches (28 for strikes).
Dodgers respond with more runs, chase Joe Musgrove
⚾ Padres 9, Dodgers 6 — End of the third inning
The Padres’ big lead was short lived as the Dodgers responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the third inning.
Will Smith and Max Muncy singled off Joe Musgrove before Teoscar Hernández grounded out to first to advance the runners. James Outman followed with a grounder to first that scored Smith and gave Outman his first RBI of the season.
Jason Heyward jumped on the first pitch for a single to center to score Muncy, chasing Musgrove from the game. After Gavin Lux singled off left-hander Tom Cosgrove, Mookie Betts hammered a double off the wall in left field to score Heyward and Lux. Shohei Ohtani tapped one back to Cosgrove to end the inning.
The first three innings have taken a shade under 90 minutes. Thank goodness for the pitch clock?
Padres score four more to extend their lead
⚾ Padres 9, Dodgers 2 — Middle of the third inning
The Padres padded their lead off Michael Grove as Xander Bogaerts again provided the spark.
With one out, singles by Luis Campusano, Tyler Wade and Jackson Merrill — his first MLB hit — loaded the bases for Bogaerts, who also singled to drive in two runs.
An error by third baseman Max Muncy on a grounder by Fernando Tatis Jr. allowed Merrill to come in to make it 8-2 and allowed Bogaerts to advance to third.
Jake Cronenworth hit a sacrifice fly to score Bogaerts before Manny Machado grounded out to third to end the inning.
Shohei Ohtani RBI helps Dodgers chip away further
⚾ Padres 5, Dodgers 2 — End of the second inning
The Dodgers pushed another run across the plate but stranded another runner.
After Gavin Lux singled with one out, Mookie Betts singled on a ball that glanced off diving third baseman Tyler Wade and past Ha-Seong Kim into left field. Lux hustled his way to third and Betts advanced to second on the throw to try to get Lux.
Shohei Ohtani followed with a sacrifice fly to right that reached the warning track despite not getting all of it, plating Lux.
Freddie Freeman struck out to end the inning. The Dodgers have stranded four runners so far.
Joe Musgrove is through two innings on 49 pitches.
Michael Grove replaces Yoshinobu Yamamoto, puts up scoreless inning
⚾ Padres 5, Dodgers 1 — Middle of the second inning
Michael Grove entered the game to start the second inning and worked around a single by Fernando Tatis Jr. and a hit-by-pitch of Jake Cronenworth to record two strikeouts (Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado) and retire Ha-Seong Kim on a flyout.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s line for Thursday’s game: one inning, four hits, five runs (all earned), one walk, two strikeouts on 43 pitches (23 for strikes).
Dodgers get on the board, leave bases loaded
⚾ Padres 5, Dodgers 1 — End of the first inning
The Dodgers tried to respond quickly after Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up five runs but, much as they did for most of Wednesday’s game, they stranded runners.
After Mookie Betts flied out to center to lead off, Shohei Ohtani hammered a first-pitch single to right and Freddie Freeman walked. Will Smith followed with a double to right-center, scoring Ohtani. It was the Dodgers’ first extra-base hit of the season (all seven Dodgers hits in Wednesday’s game were singles).
Max Muncy struck out before Teoscar Hernández drew a walk to load the bases. James Outman flied out softly to right to end the inning.
After Yamamoto threw 43 pitches, Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove threw 31 pitches in his first inning of work.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggles out of the gate, Padres put 5 on the board
⚾ Padres 5, Dodgers 0 — Middle of the first inning
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s MLB debut had a rough beginning.
Xander Bogaerts hit Yamamoto’s first pitch, a 96-mph fastball, for a single. Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch and then Jake Cronenworth tripled to stake San Diego to a 2-0 lead.
After Manny Machado walked, Ha-Seong Kim hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate Cronenworth. Yamamoto struck out Jurickson Profar, but then Luis Campusano doubled down the left-field line — on a ball that got under third baseman Max Muncy’s glove — to score Machado, who had moved to second on a wild pitch during Profar’s at-bat.
Tyler Wade single to right to score Campusano before Jackson Merrill struck out to end the inning after 43 pitches.
Yamamoto was replaced by Michael Grove to start the second inning.
Startled Dodgers move on after Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter accused of theft, gambling
SEOUL — The camera shot of the dugout looked reminiscent of so many before.
Shohei Ohtani approaching his long-time interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara. The two exchanging a few words while gazing out at the field. Each of them cracking a smile and sharing a laugh, as if no major scandal was bubbling behind the scenes.
Those were the images that flashed across SportsNet LA’s broadcast in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ opening day win on Wednesday — a seemingly friendly interaction between Ohtani and Mizuhara at the end of Ohtani’s victorious regular-season debut with the team.
Only, everything was not OK.
‘He’s never satisfied.’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s success rooted in a willingness to change
OSAKA, Japan — Yoshinobu Yamamato did what?
In the underground parking lot of Kyocera Dome after a recent exhibition game, Orix Buffaloes pitching coach Masafumi Hirai chuckled when recalling how he reacted to hearing that Yamamoto reported to spring training in 2018 with a new delivery.
“I was surprised,” Hirai said in Japanese.
The previous season had been viewed as a resounding triumph for Yamamoto, who dominated Japan’s minors and was elevated to the first team before the end of the year. The 5-foot-10 right-hander started five games for the Buffaloes, including one against Shohei Ohtani, who was in his final season in Nippon Professional Baseball.
“The No. 1 pitcher I faced this year,” Ohtani said at the time.
So why was Yamamoto overhauling his delivery? What was he thinking?
Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers debut feels like a breath of fresh air, for Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani was in a good mood.
He collected a couple of singles on Wednesday night in his Dodgers debut, including one against countryman Yu Darvish. He stole a base. He drove in the final run of a four-run eighth inning that reversed a one-run deficit and sent his team on its way to a 5-2 opening-day victory over the San Diego Padres at Gocheok Sky Dome.
When Ohtani was approached in the Dodgers clubhouse, a team official said he wasn’t talking. Ohtani told the official he didn’t mind. He placed his arm around the man and told him in English, “We’ll do this together.”
Ohtani laughed.
“I think a team that can come back to win at the end like this is a strong team,” he said in Japanese.
Shohei Ohtani’s attorneys accuse interpreter of ‘massive theft’ tied to alleged gambling
Representatives of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday accused his interpreter of engaging in a “massive theft” of the ballplayer’s funds to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker who is the target of a federal investigation.
Lawyers for Ohtani made that claim after The Times learned that Ohtani’s name had surfaced in the investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an Orange County resident. Ohtani’s representatives looked into the actions of the interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in response to The Times’ queries, a source close to the matter said. Two sources told the newspaper that the money involved was in the millions of dollars.
In a statement, the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler, said, “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”
Attempts to reach Mizuhara were unsuccessful. Mizuhara placed bets with Bowyer, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to share sensitive information.
Dodgers catch a break with Jake Cronenworth’s glove, rally for opening-day win vs. Padres
SEOUL — It lacked the flash and flair that fans had envisioned during a blockbuster, $1.2-billion offseason.
It was hardly a display of the club’s otherworldly roster talent.
Still, in the first game of their 2024 season, the Dodgers trudged their way to an opening-day, come-from-behind win at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, defeating the San Diego Padres 5-2 in the first South Korean regular season game in MLB history.
After squandering a string of early-game scoring chances that threatened to spoil the club debuts of Shohei Ohtani (who had two hits, an RBI and a steal) and Tyler Glasnow (who gave up two runs in five innings), the Dodgers flipped the script with a rather understated sequence of events that led to a four-run, go-ahead rally in the top of the eighth inning.