The Los Angeles Dodgers won the first-ever Major League Baseball regular season game in South Korea against the San Diego Padres. But while they have a star-studded roster, the Dodgers had to pull off the victory in the latter innings.
The Padres had a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning after Manny Machado crossed home plate. However, the Dodgers responded with four runs in the top of the eighth inning to take the lead and settle the final score 5-2.
Enrique Hernandez’s sacrifice fly drove Max Muncy home to level the score. But in the subsequent series, Gavin Lux’s single broke the webbing of Jake Cronenworth’s glove. What looked like a double play turned into the go-ahead run by Teoscar Hernandez from second base.
After which, the MVPs came to play. Mookie Betts connected on a ground ball single, allowing James Outman to reach home plate safely. Then, Shohei Ohtani’s line-drive single became an RBI single after Lux scored.
Shohei Ohtani’s first game as a Dodger:
— MLB (@MLB) March 20, 2024
2 hits
1 RBI
1 stolen base
Dodgers win pic.twitter.com/nGulwTDmit
The Padres failed to respond to that massive momentum shift, allowing the Dodgers to win the first game of their two-part Seoul Series. While Tyler Glasnow started for Los Angeles, Daniel Hudson gets the credit for the victory. Conversely, Jhony Brito is credited with the loss despite Yu Darvish starting.
The Dodgers had seven hits, two apiece from Betts and Ohtani. Meanwhile, Teoscar Hernandez contributed two runs. Conversely, the Padres had four hits, two from Xander Bogaerts. No one scored a home run from both sides.
The second game of the Dodgers-Padres Seoul Series will be on Thursday, March 21, at 6:05 a.m. ET at the Gocheok Sky Dome in the South Korean capital.
-Lance Fernandez