LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th home run, Blake Snell struck out 10 batters in five shutout innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Toronto Blue Jays 9-1 on Saturday night.
Max Muncy opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth, and Ohtani connected for a solo shot to center field off starter Chris Bassitt (11-6) in the fifth. It’s the third year in a row and fourth time overall the two-way superstar from Japan has reached 40 homers; the previous three came during MVP seasons.
Los Angeles broke open the game with six runs in the sixth, as rookie Dalton Rushing and Mookie Betts each had a two-run single before Andy Pages tacked on a two-run double for his second hit of the inning.
Snell (2-1) permitted three hits and three walks in his fourth start this season and second since returning Aug. 2 from shoulder inflammation that had sidelined him since early April. It was his 36th career double-digit strikeout game and first with the Dodgers.
The left-hander signed a $182 million, five-year contract with the defending World Series champions as a free agent last offseason.
Ernie Clement homered against reliever Jack Dreyer leading off the Toronto eighth.
Bassitt allowed three runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Key moment
Pages singled to start the sixth and the Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out on a hit batter and a walk. Rushing’s two-run single made it 5-0 and chased reliever Yariel Rodríguez.
Key stat
Muncy has 16 homers this season — three in five games since returning Monday from a bone bruise.
Up next
Blue Jays LHP Eric Lauer (7-2, 2.59 ERA) has three wins in his last four starts. He’s allowed a combined six earned runs in the last four games.
Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.06) yielded one earned run over seven innings in a win against St. Louis in his last start.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
