Shohei Ohtani's major league-leading 11th home run of the season helped make Walker Buehler's return to the mound a winning one for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who posted a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday.
The Dodgers homered four times in all to take the opener of this three-game series and extend their winning streak to five games. Ohtani and James Outman delivered two-run blasts, while Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez had solo shots for the reigning National League West champions.
Making his first MLB start since June 2022 after recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, Buehler did not factor in the decision while allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in four innings.
Buehler's return began in a rocky way, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. opened the game with a single before stealing second and scoring on Bryan De La Cruz's base hit. De La Cruz later scored on Jesus Sanchez's single for a 2-0 Miami lead.
The Dodgers quickly pulled even, as Ohtani followed a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts in the bottom of the first with his fourth homer in three games. Two pitches later, Freeman connected off Miami starter Roddery Munoz to put Los Angeles in front.
Nick Gordon's solo homer off Buehler in the second tied the score once again, but Outman sent Los Angeles back ahead in the bottom of the inning with his blast to center that followed a walk to Gavin Lux.
Hernandez's ninth homer of the season increased the lead to 6-3 in the third, and relievers Ryan Yarbrough, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia combined for five scoreless innings to protect Los Angeles' advantage.
Chisholm and Sanchez each had two hits for the Marlins. Munoz allowed all six Los Angeles runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.
Wheeler, Harper help scorching Phillies finish sweep of Giants
Zack Wheeler struck out 11 over seven innings, Bryce Harper belted a three-run homer for a second consecutive game, and the torrid Philadelphia Phillies completed a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 victory.
Wheeler allowed one unearned run and four hits in a dominant effort that gave Philadelphia its sixth straight win and 10th in a row at home. The Phillies have now won 10 of their last 11 overall and improved to 17-3 since April 15.
The Phillies did have one streak end, however, as Alec Bohm went 0 for 4 to end a run of 18 straight games with at least one hit.
Giants starter Mason Black, making his major league debut, kept the Phillies off the board until the rookie issued back-to-back walks in the fourth inning and gave up a run-scoring single to Whit Merrifield.
Black ran into greater trouble in the fifth, as Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto began Philadelphia's half of the inning with singles before Harper launched a pitch into the left field seats for a 4-0 lead.
The Giants got their only run in the sixth when Thairo Estrada reached on an error, moved to third on LaMonte Wade Jr.'s single and scored on Wilmer Flores's sacrifice fly.
Schwarber capped the scoring with a solo homer off reliever Tyler Rogers in the eighth.
Black lasted 4 1/3 innings and permitted five runs on eight hits while walking three.
Twins bounce back, win series opener against Mariners
Simeon Woods Richardson allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings for the Minnesota Twins, who scored twice in the seventh inning to earn a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners to open a four-game series.
Carlos Correa went 2 for 4 with an RBI double to help Minnesota get back on track following Sunday's 9-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, which ended the Twins' 12-game winning streak.
Seattle's Luis Castillo held the Twins to one run through six innings, but was touched for two in the seventh as Minnesota broke a 1-1 tie.
Castillo walked Max Kepler to start the Twins' half of the inning and Correa followed with his second double of the night to put two on. Correa advanced to third on a fielder's choice grounder as Kepler was thrown out at the plate, then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vasquez.
Manuel Margot then greeted reliever Trent Thornton with a run-scoring single that extended the lead to 3-1.
Woods Richardson recorded a career-high eight strikeouts while yielding just a third-inning single to Mitch Garver and a walk to Cal Raleigh in the fifth. The right-hander exited with a 1-0 lead, but reliever Griffin Jax surrendered two hits and a walk in the seventh before Garver got Seattle on the board with a sac fly that plated former Twin Jorge Polanco.
The Twins had gone ahead in the fifth on back-to-back doubles from Kepler and Correa, the first hits Castillo surrendered during the game.
Castillo allowed just three hits overall in 6 2/3 innings, but did walk three and was charged with three runs - two earned - to take the loss.