BASEBALL: Shohei Ohtani's scoreless 6 innings lead Dodgers past Guardians

Shohei Ohtani gave up just one hit over six scoreless innings in his season pitching debut, while Max Muncy hit a home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers secured a 4-1 victory over the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

Andy Pages collected two hits and two RBIs, and Teoscar Hernandez drove in his first run of the season as the two-time defending champion Dodgers improved to 4-1.

Ohtani (1-0), placed in the No. 5 spot of the rotation to manage his pitching workload, walked three batters and struck out six. The only hit he allowed was a double by Rhys Hoskins with two outs in the fourth inning.

Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee (0-1) gave up one run on four hits over four innings. His start had been in doubt due to shoulder inflammation after his Opening Day outing at Seattle. Bibee struck out four and walked two.

Brayan Rocchio broke up the Dodgers’ shutout bid with an RBI single in the ninth. Cleveland suffered its second loss in three games.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Will Smith and Hernandez reached base on singles, and Pages drove home Smith with a two-out single.

Los Angeles extended the lead to 2-0 in the sixth when Muncy launched a towering home run into the Guardians’ bullpen, his first of the season. Hernandez and Pages added insurance runs with RBI singles in the eighth.

Left-handers Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer each followed Ohtani with a hitless inning before right-hander Edwin Diaz allowed a run in the ninth in a non-save situation.

At the plate, Ohtani was 1-for-3 with two walks, bringing his season totals to 3-for-15 with a .455 on-base percentage. This marked his first mound appearance in the opening month of the season since 2023, when he played for the Los Angeles Angels.

Despite Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman all hitting .200 or below through five games, the Dodgers are off to a strong start in 2026.

—Field Level Media/Reuters