LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani blasted the first postseason home run of his career to help the Los Angeles Dodgers claim a 7-5 victory over the San Diego Padres in a thrilling Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff duel on Saturday.
Ohtani crushed a 372-foot three-run rocket into right field off Padres starter Dylan Cease in the second inning to help the Dodgers tie it up at 3-3.
They had fallen 3-0 behind following a first-inning onslaught from the Padres’ powerful batting line-up.
“The stadium was electric and I was just really able to enjoy the game today,” said Ohtani, who is widely regarded as the best player in baseball.
“He’s a good pitcher and it’s not easy to get him, but I really wanted to make sure that I could hit one,” added Ohtani, who had never played a postseason game before Saturday.”
With Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggling on the mound, the Padres regained the lead after Xander Bogaerts’ two-run double in the third inning made it 5-3.
But Ohtani once again helped spark a Dodgers revival in the fourth inning.
Ohtani’s single loaded the bases and set up a scoring run for Tommy Edman to cut the deficit to 5-4 before Teoscar Hernandez drove in two runs with a single to right field to make it 6-5.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith scampered in for a run to make it 7-5 in the fifth inning.
There was a nervous finale in the ninth inning as the Padres got two men on base.
But closer Blake Treinen struck out Manny Machado to clinch a win which gives the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series.
Game 2 takes place in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Dodgers slugger Hernandez paid tribute to the inspirational Ohtani after the win.
“Shohei is Shohei — I don’t think there’s anybody playing like him right now,” Ohtani said. “I’m just glad he’s on our team.”
In other playoff action on Saturday, there were wins for the New York Mets and New York Yankees while the Cleveland Guardians also opened their postseason with a victory.
The Mets, who pulled off a ninth inning comeback to stun the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card round, once again conjured a late rally for a 6-2 win over the Phillies in their National League Division Series duel in Philadelphia.
The Phillies looked to be on their way to victory after Kyle Schwarber blasted a leadoff homer to give the home side an early 1-0 lead.
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler then blanked the Mets batters through seven innings, giving up just one hit with four walks and nine strikeouts.
But the Mets jumped on the Phillies relievers with a five-run eighth inning, opening up a 5-1 lead before going on to clinch a win that left Citizen Bank Park in shell-shocked silence.
“We know we’re good, and we’ve got good players. And we are executing,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
In the American League, meanwhile, the Yankees held their nerve in a see-saw battle with the Kansas City Royals to grab a 6-5 victory and a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five series.
Alex Verdugo was the hero for the Bronx Bombers, driving in a decisive single to score Jazz Chisholm in the bottom of the seventh inning for what turned out to be the winning run in a game that saw no fewer than six lead changes.
In Cleveland, Lane Thomas crushed a three-run home run off Detroit reliever Reese Olson as the Guardians put up five runs without an out in the first inning on the way to a 7-0 victory over the Tigers in their American League divisional series.