Fresh off Los Angeles City Hall announcing May 17 would be declared as Shohei Ohtani Day on Friday, the two-way superstar delivered in a big way for his new team.
Ohtani recorded his first walk-off hit in a Dodgers uniform, driving in a game-winning RBI single into right field to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
“I just wanted to make sure I put the ball in play, and it worked out well,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
The hit marked his second major league walk-off of his career as Los Angeles took three of four games from Cincinnati over the four-game weekend series. The Dodgers (32-17) have now won 20 of 26 while the Reds dropped to 19-28 with the loss.
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“Overall it was a special weekend,” Ohtani added. “I wasn’t able to get a base hit on my bobblehead day, but I was able to end on a really good note.”
The Dodgers received great contributions from their respected rookies in outfielder Andy Pages and right-hand pitcher Landon Knack.
Pages hit his fifth home run of the season on a two-run bomb in the fourth inning, bringing home Freddie Freeman after he singled to right for the Dodgers.
“I’ve been on a bad run the past couple of weeks, I think everyone has seen it,” Pages said. “I’ve been working and making some adjustments with the coaching staff, and on that at-bat I was just trying to put a good swing on the ball.”
Knack (1-1) gave Los Angeles an impactful 4 2/3 innings in his fourth start of the season, allowing one run on three hits, while tallying five strikeouts.
“I felt like I had all four (pitches) going, especially my curveball,” said Knack, who currently has a 2.61 ERA through 20.2 innings. “As we got out there, we kind of realized it was working well, so we just leaned on it.”
“Landon was great today,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s in a tough spot when he goes down (to the Minor Leagues) and comes up and makes spot starts, and it’s not easy. And so you have to be some kind of focused to be able to do that.”
The Reds got within one after back-to-back doubles in the fifth from Stuart Fairchild and Santiago Espinal, making it 2-1 after Espinal’s hit to left field. Cincinnati then tied the game at 2-2 after pinch-hitter Spencer Steer drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.
Anthony Banda (1-0), who made his Dodgers debut after being acquired from Cleveland on Friday, retired the Reds 1-2-3 in the 10th. It marked Banda’s first win since May of 2022 when the seven-year reliever was a Pittsburgh Pirate.
“I met him for the first time this morning,” Roberts said on Banda, a 30-year-old left-hander. “Coming in, it wasn’t a soft landing — Elly on second base, nobody out, extra innings … to keep him at bay, make pitches and keep them at zero was pretty impressive.”
Banda’s strong debut put the Dodgers in prime position to close out the game after a gritty offensive effort.
Jason Heyward started on second base in the bottom of the 10th as Kiké Hernández popped out on the plate on a bunt attempt. Will Smith was then walked while pinch hitting, and Mookie Betts flew out to center field for the second out, but it was Ohtani who successfully drove in a game-winning RBI single into right off Reds closer Alex Diaz for the walk-off winner.
“He’s had a lot of big hits for us,” Roberts said. “But the first walk-off, certainly at home, was exciting.”
