Ohtani's big homer and smith's 2 blasts help dodgers end home woes with 5-2 win over twins
Buxton sent Ohtani's second pitch of the game halfway up the left field pavilion. After Mookie Betts walked, Ohtani answered with a 441-foot blast to center that put the Dodgers in front 2-1. The two-way Japanese superstar has homered in three straight games. Smith went deep twice off David Festa (3-4). Smith led off the fourth with a two-strike homer to center and followed with a 435-foot shot to left that made it 4-1. Andy Pages added a solo shot off reliever Cole Sands. Dustin May (6-6) took over from Ohtani, who allowed one run, four hits, and struck out three in three innings. May gave up five hits in 4 2/3 innings, struck out four, and walked three. Kirby Yates earned his third save. Freddie Freeman was in the lineup a day after being hit by a pitch on his left wrist in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Milwaukee. He was 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Key moment: Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa went 0 for 5, getting booed heavily in every at-bat by Dodgers fans still angry about the 2017 World Series when Correa played for Houston. He was robbed of a potential game-tying homer by James Outman at the center field wall in the ninth.
Key stat: Ohtani is the first pitcher to give up a homer and hit a homer in the first inning of the same game since Philadelphia's Randy Lerch in a 23-22 win over the Chicago Cubs on May 17, 1979.
Up next: Twins RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 3.95 ERA) starts Tuesday against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8-7, 2.59).
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