Dodgers 4, Padres 0: Shohei Ohtani provides pop and pitching; bullpen extends scoreless streak

The Dodgers, after falling 1-0 in the series opener, came back to take the final two games against the Padres. They finished Wednesday night by defeating the Padres 4-0 behind strong pitching and a decent amount of offense.

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Shohei Ohtani got the start on the mound, but he got the game started on the first pitch.

SHO'ING OFF ON THE FIRST PITCH OF THE GAME. pic.twitter.com/AJalWtBWl8

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 21, 2026

He seems to be finding his groove at the plate. He was in the lineup tonight, despite pitching, because the Dodgers have a day off on Thursday. He finished 1-for-4 with that homer, a walk and two runs scored.

On the mound, Ohtani turned in his shortest outing of the season: 5 IP, 3 H 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 88 pitches, 53 strikes. However, he still held the San Diego offense scoreless.

His worst jam came in the fifth inning. He allowed back-to-back singles to Bryce Johnson and Nick Castellanos. A Ramon Laureano fielder’s choice put runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. Laureano stole second base, after which, Ohtani walked the No. 9 hitter in Freddy Fermin. That setup a bases loaded, one out showdown with worm-killer Fernando Tatis Jr. Here’s how that at-bat ended.

SHOTIME. ? pic.twitter.com/a32GB7Me92

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 21, 2026

Ohtani owns a 0.73 ERA on the season, lol.

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Freddie Freeman also seems to be turning things around, as he went 2-for-5 with two doubles. Kyle Tucker chipped in with an RBI single in the fifth inning. Teoscar Hernandez had two RBIs of his own — a sacrifice fly in the third inning and this in the ninth inning.

Stop and stare, Teo. pic.twitter.com/phvRwRSuC8

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 21, 2026

An absolute tank. Bravo, Teo.

The bullpen turned in four scoreless innings to extend its scoreless streak to 29 innings — the most since the 1998 Dodgers. Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Treinen, Kyle Hurt and Will Klein allowed a total of two hits (both by Hurt in a 3-0 game), no walks and struck out four. Hurt got a key double play in the eighth innings in a high-leverage spot for him. That was good to see.

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The Dodgers move to 31-19 and open up a 1 1/2-game lead on the Padres, who fell to 29-20. After a day off tomorrow, the Dodgers open a 3-game series in Milwaukee with the Brewers in a rematch of last year’s NLCS. Justin Wrobleski (6-1, 2.49 ERA) takes on Logan Henderson (1-1, 3.50). First pitch is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. Pacific time.