Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a National League-leading 21st home run Thursday as the Los Angeles Dodgers held on to win 5-3 against the Colorado Rockies.
Ohtani hit his first leadoff homer this season and seventh in his Major League Baseball career as he launched a 2-1 sinker off Ty Blach (3-5) over the center-field wall at Coors Field.
It was the fourth homer in the last five games for Ohtani, who went 1-for-3 with two walks. The two-way star moved up to third in most hits by Japanese players in the big leagues at 775, surpassing Norichika Aoki.
An Andy Pages double and Miguel Vargas single drove in a run each in the third before Will Smith and Freddie Freeman hit back-to-back solo shots in the fourth for a 5-0 Dodgers lead. Gavin Stone (8-2) earned the win, allowing two runs over 5-1/3 innings.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees leads the majors with 27 homers and Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles follows with 22 this year in the American League. Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves is one behind Ohtani in the NL.
