Shohei Ohtani delivered a standout performance on both the mound and at the plate Sunday, helping lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 13-7 victory over the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani, making his second pitching appearance of the season, threw a scoreless inning before contributing five runs batted in with a triple and a home run as the Dodgers took the series and closed out a 10-game homestand with a 7-3 record.
In his brief but effective pitching stint, Ohtani faced four batters, struck out two, and allowed no hits. His only baserunner reached on a dropped popup by Mookie Betts, which was ruled an error. The right-hander threw 18 pitches, showing sharper command than in his previous outing against San Diego. With the Dodgers easing him back into pitching duties following injury recovery, Ohtani’s outing set the tone for the day’s momentum shift.
Offensively, Ohtani broke the game open in the seventh inning with a three-run triple to the right field corner during a seven-run rally. He later added his 26th home run of the season in the eighth inning, a two-run shot that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 13-3.
Max Muncy also delivered a significant offensive contribution, tying a career high with seven RBIs. He hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4 and followed with a three-run homer in the seventh, marking his 18th multi-homer game and his 200th career home run. The first blast came immediately after a delay caused by Nationals reliever José A. Ferrer, who asked for the mound to be inspected. Muncy launched Ferrer’s first pitch after the interruption deep into the left-field bleachers.
Washington initially held a 3-0 lead, with Nathaniel Lowe hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning. Starting pitcher Michael Soroka held the Dodgers in check early, striking out a career-high 10 batters and giving up just two hits into the sixth. But after Hyeseong Kim’s double broke Soroka’s rhythm, Los Angeles responded swiftly.
Reliever Ben Casparius earned the win for the Dodgers, improving to 6-1 after pitching five innings in relief of Ohtani. Casparius allowed three runs on five hits. Ferrer took the loss for the Nationals, who have now dropped six consecutive series and sit at 4-16 for the month of June.
Despite the Nationals scoring four runs in the ninth to narrow the final margin, the Dodgers maintained control throughout the late innings thanks to the offensive surge from the middle of the lineup.
Washington now travels to San Diego, where Mitchell Parker (4-8, 4.59 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday’s series opener. The Dodgers have a day off before beginning a road trip in Colorado on Tuesday, likely opening with a bullpen game. According to betting lines for Tuesday, the Dodgers are expected to open as -185 favorites at Coors Field, with the over/under projected at 11.5 runs.
