Ohtani earns first Dodgers win in five innings as Dodgers sweep Reds

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani struck out a season-high nine over five innings Wednesday night, earning his first pitching victory with the Los Angeles Dodgers as they completed a 5-1 sweep of the Cincinnati Reds and stretched their lead in the National League West to two games. The outing, at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 28, marked the first time this season Ohtani reached the five-inning threshold required to qualify for a starter's win and came on a night the Dodgers set a franchise mark with 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

Ohtani allowed one run on two hits and two walks while throwing a season-high 87 pitches, 53 for strikes. The lone run came in the third when Noelvi Marte launched a first-pitch cutter for a 410-foot homer. At the plate, Ohtani went 1-for-5 and led off the fourth with a single that sparked a four-run inning, capped by two-run hits from Kiké Hernández and rookie Dalton Rushing. Michael Conforto added a solo shot in the eighth.

The defining adjustment for Ohtani was a dramatic shift in pitch mix. After relying heavily on fastballs earlier this year, he leaned into his secondary offerings against Cincinnati, throwing a career-high number of curveballs and more...