The Los Angeles Dodgers pounded out 17 hits to beat South Korea’s Kiwoom Heroes 14-3 in an exhibition game Sunday, ahead of the season-opening two-game series against the San Diego Padres.
Jason Heyward drove in four runs, Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run among his three hits and Shohei Ohtani struck out swinging in both of his at-bats at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome.
Ohtani, batting second as the designated hitter, was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning.
Freeman sparked Los Angeles’ offense with a solo blast to right in the first. The Dodgers built a 4-0 lead through the first three innings off Kiwoom right-hander Ariel Jurado and put the game away with a four-run fifth.
Dodgers starter Michael Grove and six relievers combined to strike out 15 batters.
Later Sunday, the Padres edged South Korea’s national team 1-0 in another exhibition game. Korean shortstop Kim Ha Seong went 1-for-4 with a single for San Diego.
Xander Bogaerts scored the game’s only run on a wild pitch by Moon Dong Ju in the first inning. Left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui, who joined the Padres from the Rakuten Eagles in Japan in the offseason, threw a hitless fifth, walking one without a strikeout.
The Dodgers and Padres will play the first two games of Major League Baseball’s regular season on Wednesday and Thursday.