Shohei Ohtani hit his 30th home run of the season, extending his streak of 30-homer campaigns to five consecutive years, and the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. The win marked the Dodgers’ 13th in their last 16 games, pushing their lead in the National League West to a season-high eight games.
Ohtani’s home run came in the fourth inning, moments after he fouled a pitch off the right knee of home plate umpire Alan Porter. The three-time MVP paused to check on Porter, then launched a 408-foot shot to straightaway center field, his first hit after going hitless in his previous six at-bats. He returned to check on Porter again during the seventh-inning stretch, underscoring a moment of sportsmanship amid a milestone performance.
The Dodgers entered the game favored with betting odds around -250, reflecting their strong recent form and the presence of Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound. Yamamoto delivered one of his most efficient outings of the season, allowing just one run and three hits over seven innings. He struck out eight and walked one, improving his record to 8-6. The Dodgers’ offense provided six runs of support, the most Yamamoto has received in a start this year, compared to his season average of just 2.5 runs.
All six of Los Angeles’ runs were scored with two outs in the first and fourth innings. After White Sox starter Shane Smith (3-6) retired the first two Dodgers he faced in the opening frame, he issued consecutive walks to Will Smith and Max Muncy. Teoscar Hernández delivered a run-scoring single, followed by an RBI double from Andy Pages and a two-run single from Michael Conforto to make it 4-0.
Chicago’s only run came in the third inning on an RBI single by Lenyn Sosa. Despite that brief offensive spark, the White Sox were held in check for most of the evening. Smith was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on five hits and three walks across four innings.
Ohtani’s 30th home run placed him alongside Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees as the only players in the major leagues to reach that mark before the All-Star break this season.
The Dodgers will send veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw (4-0, 3.03 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday for the series finale. Kershaw enters the game just three strikeouts away from becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 career strikeouts. The White Sox are scheduled to counter with right-hander Sean Burke (4-7, 4.22 ERA), who will be making his first career start against Los Angeles.
