California, Aug 25 (Kyodo/APP): Shohei Ohtani went deep off compatriot Yuki Matsui in the top of the ninth inning with his 45th home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 8-2 on Sunday.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8) threw six innings of two-run ball to earn the win, which put the Dodgers back into a tie with the Padres for first in the National League West at 74-57.
Freddie Freeman homered twice and drove in three runs, and young catcher Dalton Rushing delivered a three-run go-ahead blast in the seventh for the Dodgers, who avoided a series sweep at Petco Park that would have left them two games behind San Diego.
Ohtani had gone 0-for-10 with a couple of walks in the series before launching Matsui’s 1-2 fastball an estimated 409 feet (124 meters) over right-center with one out in the ninth, reclaiming a share of the NL lead in homers in a back-and-forth race with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber.
In a lighter moment, the two-way superstar made a detour after rounding the bases to high-five a Padres fan near the dugout, who had been heckling him throughout the game.
“That was fun. It was good for Shohei to show his personality,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said.
Yamamoto surrendered a two-run homer to Elias Diaz in the third but was otherwise solid, fanning six while allowing four hits and two walks.
“It was a game we couldn’t afford to lose, so I came into it more focused than usual,” Yamamoto said. “I gave up the lead with the home run, but thankfully the team was able to win.”
San Diego’s loss snapped its winning streak at five games.