San Diego @ Los Angeles Game Overview

There was plenty of attention on Monday's opener of a four-game series at Los Angeles when the Dodgers sent Shohei Ohtani to the mound for the first time since Aug. 23, 2023. He was a member of the Los Angeles Angels then.

Ohtani's Dodgers pitching debut was a bit of a struggle after he threw 28 pitches in a single inning, but he made up for it on the offensive end with two hits and two RBIs in Los Angeles' 6-3 victory.

"Overall, just a really positive day for us," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Today I don't think (pitching) affected his offense. Tomorrow will be pretty telling as far as fatigue, but I thought overall, pretty exciting."

After the first five Los Angeles batters struck out against right-hander Dylan Cease, the lineup came to life with a five-run fourth inning. Max Muncy had a two-run single and Will Smith, Mookie Betts and Ohtani each drove in a run.

"We just started collecting hits," Smith said. "We got on base, soft contact, balls fell in the outfield. We took good at-bats and got a couple of big hits."

The Dodgers are now 3-1 against the Padres on the season series after the teams met for the first time on June 9 at San Diego.

The plan always was to make Monday's game a group effort, with the Dodgers using seven pitchers that combined to give up the three runs on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Up next will be another parade of relievers Tuesday in a bullpen game. No specific pitcher was named for the first inning. Available pitchers who did not appear against the Padres on Monday include left-handers Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski as well as right-handers Matt Sauer and Lou Trivino.

The Padres will counter with right-hander Randy Vazquez (3-4, 3.57 ERA), who gave up one run in 4 2/3 innings against the Dodgers last week in a game in which Los Angeles walked away with a 5-2 victory. It was Vazquez's only career appearance against Los Angeles.

After they reached 11 games over .500 on June 3, the Padres are just 4-8 since.

Manny Machado sliced a home run in the sixth inning Monday to give him 11 on the season and eight in his past 23 games. Machado also brought home the only run against Ohtani with a first-inning sacrifice fly.

Fernando Tatis Jr. had two of San Diego's six hits.

San Diego-area native Trenton Brooks made his Padres debut in the designated hitter spot while playing in his 13th career major league game and went 0-for-2. Bryce Johnson also was added to the roster Monday.

Outfielder Jackson Merrill is on the seven-day concussion injured list.

"We'll be able to use the versatility of the roster," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. "You've got (Jose) Iglesias sitting over there and we got (Tyler Wade) that can obviously go and now we got Bryce who can go, we got (Brandon Lockridge) that can come off (the bench). So I think we'll pick our spots to allow guys to show up in the most opportune times."

--Field Level Media