LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his 46th home run of the season to tie his career high, Jack Flaherty pitched another gem and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-0 on Sunday in record-tying heat.
With the first-pitch temperature of 103 degrees matching the hottest in Dodger Stadium history, Ohtani hit a 450-foot solo shot down the right-field line off Tanner Bibee in the fifth inning that was reviewed to see if it was fair.
Ohtani also hit 46 home runs in 2021 for the Los Angeles Angels in his unanimous AL MVP season. The Japanese star has 46 stolen bases in a bid to become the first major league player with a 50-50 season.
Flaherty (12-6) went 7 1/3 innings, striking out six and allowing four hits. The Southern California native is 5-1 since coming over in a trade with Detroit.
Max Muncy homered for the Dodgers in the eighth, his 12th of an injury-shortened season.
As far as the scorching temperature, it also was 103 for first pitch for Game 1 of the 2017 World Series against Houston. The Dodgers made a voucher available to all fans for a free bottle of water.
Ohtani was 2 for 4 . He was picked off first base in the third inning.
Mookie Betts hit a standup triple in the fourth inning. Tyler Freeman tried to make a leaping catch into the wall, then the ball ricocheted off the wall. Will Smith drove him in with a single for a 1-0 lead.
Bibee (11-7), also from Southern California, allowed two earned runs in five innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers P Gavin Stone (right shoulder inflammation) will not throw for 10 days and then build back up and see where he’s at, according to Dave Roberts. His status for the postseason is certainly in question with 19 games remaining.
UP NEXT
Cleveland RHP (4-7, 4.19 ERA) Ben Lively was set to start Monday night against the White Sox in Chicago. Los Angeles RHP Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.67 ERA) was scheduled to start for Los Angeles at home Monday night against the Cubs.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Jill Painter Lopez, The Associated Press
