The Seoul Series in South Korea ends in a split between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres pounded out 17 hits in their 15-11 win over their division rival Dodgers on Thursday.
All eyes were on Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was making his MLB debut. The Japanese star flopped from the start. He lasted just one inning and allowed the first four batters he faced reach base. He was replaced before the start of the second inning after allowing five earned runs on four hits over 43 pitches.
Shohei Ohtani did play despite his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, being fired several hours before the game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani was “ready” and that there was no consideration to sit him.
Ohtani did not talk after the game and was escorted out of the clubhouse by a PR staffer after the game.
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Yamamoto did talk and was asked about Mizuhara, who also translated for him. Yamamoto said Mizuhara's firing didn't affect him in his debut.
"I do not have much information on it.," he said. "So I don’t have anything to say."
Meanwhile, Padres DH Manny Machado iced the game with a majestic three-run blast in the ninth inning.
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Here's how Thursday's game unfolded in Seoul:
Robert Suarez completed the four-out save against the Dodgers to give the Padres their first win of the season.
Freddie Freeman struck out, Will Smith flew out to center and Max Muncy struck out for a 1-2-3 inning by Suarez.
Final: Padres 15, Dodgers 11
Wow. What a blast by Manny Machado.
Machado's first hit of the season was a three-run home run blast that traveled 395 feet over the left field fence to give the Padres a 15-11 cushion heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Padres and Dodgers have now combined for 26 runs on 32 hits. The 15 runs against the Dodgers is the most the Padres have ever scored in a game against Los Angeles.
Padres 15, Dodgers 11 − Middle of ninth inning.
The Padres turned to rookie reliever Stephen Kolek in the eighth to protect a three-run lead. He walked Teoscar Hernandez, then hit James Outman. After a mound visit, Kolek got Jason Heyward to hit into a fielders choice and Gavin Lux to fly out to left.
Robert Suarez, the Padres closer, was called in to face Mookie Betts. Betts singles up the middle and drives in two runs. Suarez retires Shohei Ohtani to end the inning.
Padres 12, Dodgers 11 − End of eighth inning.
Max Muncy is having a brutal game at third base.
With two outs and bases loaded in the seventh inning, Jose Azocar hit a roller to third that went off Muncy's glove that led to another Padres run.
It was his second error of the game. The Dodgers added a run thanks to an RBI single by Will Smith.
Padres 12, Dodgers 9 − End of seventh inning.
The Padres tack on another run. Luis Campusano doubled to left to drive in Jose Azocar, who replaced Jurickson Profar in left field. The Padres have now scored in four of the six innings.
Michael King, working his third inning of relief, held the Dodgers scoreless.
Padres 11, Dodgers 8 − End of sixth inning.
Mookie Betts is raking.
The Dodger second baseman crushed a two-run home run − the first home run of the 2024 regular season − off Padres' Michael King in the bottom of the fifth inning. He now has five hits in his last eight at-bats and has driven in four of the eight Dodger runs today.
And by hitting the first homer of 2024, Betts earns himself an IONIQ 5 electric vehicle from Hyundai.
Padres 10, Dodgers 8 − End of fifth inning.
Jackson Merrill, the 20-year-old rookie, is proving why he won the Padres' center field job out of camp. He was inches from his first career home run in the fifth inning. Instead he settled for a leadoff double, his second hit of the day. Merrill would later go on to score on a Jake Cronenworth single to right field.
Padres 10, Dodgers 6 − Middle of fifth inning.
Neither the Padres or Dodgers were able to push a run across a plate in the fourth inning. After combining for 15 runs in the first three innings, the score remains the same.
Padres 9, Dodgers 6 − End of fourth inning.
The Padres hit parade continues. They now have nine runs on nine hits.
Xander Bogaerts drove in two runs on a single to center field to start the inning. An error by third baseman Max Muncy and a sacrifice fly by Padres' Jake Cronenworth tacked on two more runs.
But the Dodgers aren't going away easy. They responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Padres starter Joe Musgrove couldn't make it out of the third inning and was relieved by Tom Cosgrove. Mookie Betts made Cosgrove pay with a double to left to drive in two runs to cut the lead to three.
Padres 9, Dodgers 6 − End of third inning.
Shohei Ohtani came within a few feet of a 3-run homer in his second at-bat. Instead he settled for a 325-foot sacrifice fly in the second inning to cut the Padres lead to 5-2. Joe Musgrove got Freddie Freeman to strike out to end the inning. The Dodgers have stranded four runners so far.
Padres 5, Dodgers 2 − End of second inning.
After a nightmare first inning, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was replaced by Michael Grove to start the second inning. Yamamoto, who was given a 12-year, $325 million deal in the offseason, allowed five earned runs on four hits over 43 pitches.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's regular season debut got off to a rocky start. The Padres jumped on Yamamoto early, and often. A look at his first inning:
The damages was done. Yamamoto's line: 1 inning, 4 hits, 1 HBP, 1 BB and 5 earned runs on 43 pitches.
The Dodgers responded in the bottom of the inning. Will Smith doubled to right-center field to score Shohei Ohtani, who singled in his first at-bat. But the Dodgers left the bases loaded as Joe Musgrove got out of the jam.
Padres 5, Dodgers 1 − End of first inning.
The Dodgers vs. Padres game in Seoul, South Korea, begins at 6 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Thursday's game will air on ESPN, getting underway at 6 a.m. ET.
It’s Yamamoto time!
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $325 million contract with the Dodgers in December, will make his major league debut against the Padres. The 25-year-old righty from Japan looks to improve from his bumpy spring season. He struggled in three starts, allowing nine runs, 15 hits and four walks while striking out 14 in 9 ⅔ innings. He will face Joe Musgrove, who will start for the Padres. Musgrove was 10-3 with a 3.05 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 17 starts for San Diego last year.
Shohei Ohtani is in the today's lineup. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani is “ready to play” and there was no consideration to sit him for tonight’s game despite his interpreter being fired. Roberts also wouldn’t comment on what Ippei Mizuhara told the team last night.
Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, training partner and constant companion was allegedly taking significant sums of money from him in an effort to settle gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara, who has been by the two-way superstar’s side since Ohtani’s Major League Baseball career began in 2018, was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, just hours after Ohtani’s regular season debut with the club in Seoul.
The Los Angeles Times discovered that Ohtani’s name emerged in a federal investigation of an Orange County resident allegedly tied to illegal bookmaking, and Ohtani’s legal team investigated Mizuhara’s actions after learning of their client’s tie, the Times reported. The sum Mizuhara is accused of stealing was in the millions of dollars, according to Times reporting. ESPN reported that Mizuhara's debts totaled at least $4.5 million.
– Gabe Lacques
The Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul is hosting the Dodgers vs. Padres games on Wednesday and Thursday. It's the home ballpark of the KBO's Kiwoom Heroes.
Here are the stadium dimensions:
MLB's official Opening Day with all 30 teams in action is scheduled for Thursday, March 28.
Here's the full schedule for March 28 (all times Eastern):
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