Baseball: Ohtani goes deep in back-to-back games as Dodgers beat Blue Jays

TORONTO, Apr 7 (Kyodo/APP): Shohei Ohtani blasted a home run in back-to-back games for his third of the season as the Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to a 14-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

The Japanese star had a solo shot with a fly ball to center field in the sixth inning off Blue Jays second reliever Joe Mantiply, giving the Dodgers a 7-1 lead at Rogers Centre, where he went 2-for-6.

“I wasn’t sure it would clear the fence, but it was a good swing,” Ohtani said of his latest home run. “I try to forget both the good and the bad after each game, to reset for the next day. It was good that we won today and I’ll do my best tomorrow.”

Ohtani singled on a soft grounder and advanced to second on a throwing error by Josh Fleming in the third before scoring on a two-run homer by Freddie Freeman for a 4-1 lead.

Batting cleanup in Toronto, Blue Jays rookie Kazuma Okamoto, who joined from the Yomiuri Giants this offseason, collected two singles as he went 2-for-4.

Boston Red Sox slugger Masataka Yoshida started as a designated hitter and went 1-for-3 with two walks in an 8-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.