Jackson Merrill hit a crucial single in the 11th inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. smashed a home run and got three hits, leading the San Diego Padres to an 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. This was despite Shohei Ohtani hitting his 175th home run, matching Hideki Matsui for the most by a Japanese-born player.
Tatis Jr. leveled the game with a two-run homer in the seventh inning, while Manny Machado, Ha-Seong Kim, and Jake Cronenworth also contributed home runs for the Padres, who initially trailed 7-3 after three innings.
In the 11th inning, with José Azocar already on base, Vázquez’s base hit drove in the decisive run against Alex Vesia (0-2).
Robert Suarez (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings without conceding a hit to claim the win. This victory marked the Padres’ first extra-inning win of the season, after losing their first 12 last year before finishing with two wins in the final week.
Ohtani’s impressive hitting streak continued, batting .457 (16-for-35) over eight games, including four homers and 12 extra-base hits. However, off the field, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, to undergo gambling addiction treatment following allegations of stealing $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to settle debts.
In the game, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández, and Max Muncy also hit home runs. San Diego initially took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, before the Dodgers surged ahead with four runs in the second.
Both starting pitchers lasted five innings, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowing three runs for the Dodgers and Michael King giving up seven runs (three earned) for the Padres.
