In an MLB matchup at Dodger Stadium on May 13 (Japan time), the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 2-6 to the San Francisco Giants, marking their second four-game losing streak of the season. Shohei Ohtani (31) started as the leadoff hitter and designated hitter, going 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the year—his first long ball in 12 games. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (27) surrendered three home runs for the first time in his MLB career, allowing five runs over 6 1/3 innings, resulting in his third loss of the season.
Ohtani had gone hitless in two straight games and had not homered in 51 plate appearances before this contest. The Giants’ starter, A. Hauser (33), entered with a 0-4 record; Ohtani had previously batted 3-for-3 against him with one homer. In the first inning, Ohtani fell behind 1-2 but drove a low outside changeup to right field for a single—his first hit in three games. A subsequent hit and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with one out, and W. Smith (31) lofted a sacrifice fly to right, allowing Ohtani to score and giving the Dodgers an early lead for Yamamoto.
Yamamoto started strong, retiring the side in order in the first. However, in the second inning with two outs, E. Haas (33) connected on a cutter that didn’t break, depositing it into the left-field seats for a game-tying solo homer. Ohtani answered in the third inning, leading off and launching a sinker on a 2-1 count the other way. The ball left his bat at 170.4 km/h, traveled 121.3 meters at a 23-degree angle, and landed in the stands for his seventh homer—his first in 53 plate appearances and 12 games, putting the Dodgers back ahead 2-1.
Yamamoto’s lead was short-lived. In the fifth inning, with two outs and no one on, he surrendered a solo homer to B. Bader, followed by another solo shot to Haas—his second consecutive homer—giving the Giants a 3-2 lead. The Dodgers’ offense struggled against Hauser, managing only three hits through 5 2/3 innings, with Ohtani accounting for two of them.
Trailing 3-2 in the seventh, Yamamoto allowed back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and third with one out before being pulled. Reliever B. Treinen (37) entered but was tagged for three more runs, extending the Giants’ lead to 6-2. The Dodgers’ bats remained quiet until the eighth inning, when they loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a single. However, M. Muncy (35) struck out looking, and A. Pagés (25) lined out to left, ending the threat.
In the ninth inning, with two outs, Ohtani came to the plate for the fifth time. He hit a grounder between first and second, but the Giants’ defense made a fine play to force him out at second, ending the game. The Dodgers dropped their fourth straight contest for the second time this season. The San Diego Padres, who had overtaken the Dodgers for the division lead the previous day, also lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, meaning the Dodgers missed a chance to reclaim first place. The gap remains at 0.5 games, while Yamamoto’s three-homer outing marked his third loss of the season.
