Shohei Ohtani hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning on his bobblehead night, lifting the Dodgers over the winless Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Wednesday.
The Dodgers improved to 8-0, the best start ever by a defending World Series champion, surpassing the 1933 New York Yankees. It is also the Dodgers’ best start to a season since 1955, when they started 10-0.
Max Muncy tied the game with a two-run double in the eighth off reliever Raisel Iglesias (0-1) after the third baseman’s two errors led to five unearned runs by the Braves early.
Fans waited hours in line outside the stadium and traffic was snarled for the first of four Ohtani bobblehead giveaways this season. He’s holding his 2024 NL MVP award.
Trailing 5-0, the Dodgers clawed back on a two-run homer from Tommy Edman and a solo shot by Michael Conforto.
With the loss, the Braves remain the only winless team in baseball with a 0-7 record. Atlanta led 5-3 heading to the eighth inning but a Max Muncy double tied the game in the bottom of the eighth before Ohtani’s heroics in the ninth.
Braves RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (0-0, 0.00 ERA) starts the team’s home opener Friday against Miami.
Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 2.70) starts Friday at Philadelphia to open a six-game trip.
