Shohei Ohtani's leadoff HR helps Dodgers sweep Rockies

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Colorado Rockies with a massive opening inning, scoring seven runs, leading to an 8-7 win on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers exploded for seven runs in the first inning against right-hander German Marquez, with Shohei Ohtani hitting a leadoff home run, his sixth of the season. Ohtani crushed the 85 mph knuckle curve on the fourth pitch he saw, sending it 448 feet into the right-field pavilion. Following Ohtani, Freddie Freeman also hit a home run, launching a 409-foot shot for his third home run of the season.

Marquez, 30, was facing Tommy Edman with two strikes and two outs in the first inning, trailing 2-1, when Edman was hit by a pitch. Following this, six Dodgers reached base consecutively, allowing them to take a 7-1 lead. Marquez was unable to complete the first inning as he loaded the bases for Andy Pages, who then hit a two-run single. Pages was not finished yet; he later signaled to bring in an insurance run in the fifth inning. He had been struggling at the start of the season, going 2-for-16 before securing the RBI single.

Austin Barnes collected his first hit of the season after starting 0-for-13, hitting an RBI double off Marquez, scoring Pages and Max Muncy.

Ohtani came to bat for the second time and hit an RBI single. Rockies manager Bud Black then replaced him with right-hander Angel Chivilli, who managed to get Freeman to ground out for the final out of the inning. Teoscar Hernández returned to the lineup after recovering from a stomach flu that had sidelined him for the first two games of the series. However, Hernández went hitless in his four at-bats, recording two strikeouts.

The Dodgers’ offense recorded six hits and scored seven runs against Marquez (0-3, 8.27 ERA), causing the Rockies to fall to 1-11 on the road this season.

The night seemed perfect for right-handed pitcher Bobby Miller to shine in his season debut, especially with his offense providing ample run support. However, Miller struggled, giving up six runs on eight hits while striking out seven batters over three innings. He threw 84 pitches in his debut and appeared to have good command of both his fastball and curveball, attacking hitters effectively by throwing a first-pitch strike to 11 of the 18 batters he faced.

In a tough third inning for the Dodgers, the Rockies mounted a comeback with two significant swings, narrowing the lead. Colorado scored five runs off pitcher Miller, managing to record just one out. Michael Toglia hit a grand slam, marking his first home run of the season. Two hits and a walk had the bases loaded when Toglia connected with a 79 mph curveball, sending it 418 feet over Pages' head into center field.

The Rockies hit back-to-back home runs as Mickey Moniak followed Toglia with his own home run off a 97 mph high fastball from Miller, marking his second of the season and driving in the fifth run of the inning.

Miller, 26, made his return to the mound after being struck in the head by a line drive during the first week of spring training. He pitched in three games with the Oklahoma City Comets, posting a record of 0-1 and a 2.25 ERA over 12 innings, with 11 strikeouts. The Dodgers needed a fresh arm, so Miller got the call when Landon Knack was optioned to Triple-A.

The Dodgers' bullpen secured the victory by limiting the Rockies' offense to just two hits and one run over the final six innings of the game. Left-hander Anthony Banda pitched one shutout inning, using 17 pitches. Roberts decided to keep Ben Casparius on the mound for three innings, despite him allowing a run on a fielder’s choice hit by Kyle Farmer. Casparius had a strong start to the season, throwing seven consecutive scoreless innings and allowing only two hits in his first four appearances. However, in his last outing on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, he struggled, giving up seven hits and six runs over just 1 ⅔ innings, contributing to the Dodgers' 16-0 loss.

Casparius had a strong bounce-back performance, helping the team maintain its lead to sweep the Cubs. Left-hander Tanner Scott came in the ninth inning, threw 11 pitches, and struck out three batters to pick up his fifth save of the season.

The Dodgers, with a record of 14-6, will have an off day on Thursday as they prepare to travel to Texas for a three-game series against the Rangers starting on Friday. After that, they will have another off day on Monday before heading to Chicago to play two games against the Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday. The team will return home next Friday to host the Pittsburgh Pirates.