LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning on his bobblehead night, lifting the unbeaten Los Angeles 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.
Max Muncy tied the game with a two-run double in the eighth off Atlanta reliever Raisel Iglesias (0-1) after the third baseman’s two errors led to five unearned runs for the Braves early.
Atlanta is 0-7 for the first time since opening 0-9 in 2016.
Fans waited hours in line outside the stadium and traffic was snarled for the first of four Ohtani bobblehead giveaways this season. This one features him holding his 2024 NL MVP award.
Trailing 5-0, the Dodgers clawed back on a two-run homer from Tommy Edman in the second inning and a solo shot by Michael Conforto in the fourth.
Jack Dreyer (1-0) got the win in relief.
Key stat
Six of the Dodgers’ eight wins have been via comeback.
Up next
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.
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