DENVER, Colorado – Shohei Ohtani extended his remarkable on-base streak to 49 games as the Los Angeles Dodgers overpowered the Colorado Rockies 7-1 in Friday’s series opener in Denver.
The two-way superstar contributed to a rough night for Samurai Japan teammate Tomoyuki Sugano, who was charged with the loss at a wintery Coors Field, which had been covered in snow hours earlier.
Ohtani led off the game with a hard-hit double down the right field line before coming home on Will Smith’s sacrifice fly to open the scoring.
The four-time MVP extended his record for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born major leaguer and took another step toward the Dodgers’ franchise record of 58 straight games, set by Hall of Famer Duke Snider in 1954.
Ohtani also lined a second-inning single to right in his 2-for-5 outing.
Sugano (1-1) gave up five runs on nine hits and two walks over four innings. The damage included a solo home run to Max Muncy in the top of the second.
“It was the coldest weather I’ve ever pitched in, but the conditions were the same for the other team, so I don’t want to make excuses,” former Yomiuri Giants ace Sugano said.
“The Dodgers’ lineup had good plate discipline after getting ahead in the count. They don’t let a pitching mistake go unpunished.”
Los Angeles starter Tyler Glasnow (2-0) twirled seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits while fanning seven.
At Sutter Health Park, Munetaka Murakami belted the first grand slam of his MLB career for the Chicago White Sox in a 9-2 win against the Athletics.
Murakami sent a mammoth fly ball over the batter’s eye for his sixth home run in the top of the seventh inning as part of a 3-for-5 outing.
The early season struggles continued for New York Mets starter Kodai Senga (0-3) at Wrigley Field, where he was knocked out after just 3-1/3 innings of a 12-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
The Japanese right-hander gave up two home runs among six hits, while allowing seven runs, six earned. Chicago outfielder Seiya Suzuki drove in the opening run with a line-drive single in the bottom of the first.
At Fenway Park, Masataka Yoshida pinch-hit a clutch 10th-inning RBI single to give the Boston Red Sox a 1-0 walk-off victory over the Detroit Tigers.