Shohei Ohtani homered in his first at-bat Friday to spark the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 12-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The two-way star, who rejected the Blue Jays and a shortlist of other clubs in the offseason to sign his record 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers, was met by a chorus of boos from the home crowd at Rogers Centre.
He wasted no time putting the visitors on the board in the series opener, smashing his third pitch from Toronto starter Chris Bassitt (2-4) deep over the right field wall for a solo home run.
"Regardless of the booing, it didn't have the carry I was expecting," Ohtani said. "I was hoping it would carry. It was close, but I'm glad it did."
The home run was Ohtani's first in three games and his seventh of the season, tying him with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts for the most for the club by a Japanese-born player, according to MLB.com.
Max Muncy and Will Smith also homered for the Dodgers, who have won five straight and lead the National League West.
In other MLB action, Shota Imanaga continued his stellar rookie campaign by pitching the Chicago Cubs to a 7-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
The Japanese lefty struck out seven over an MLB career-high 6-1/3 innings at Fenway Park, allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk.
Imanaga improved to 4-0 through his first five starts for Chicago and left the mound with a 0.98 ERA. In 27-2/3 innings pitched, he has 28 strikeouts against just three walks.
The former DeNA BayStars ace said he had good results from making minor tweaks to his mechanics coming into the game.
"I had some ideas spring to mind two days ago, including about how I shift my bodyweight, and that's worked out well," he said. "I'm thankful to my teammates for giving me a lead that allowed me to pitch comfortably."
Related coverage:
Baseball: Yamamoto earns win with 7 Ks as Dodgers sweep Nats
Baseball: Record-setting Ohtani says still striving to improve
Baseball: Ohtani hits 3 doubles as Dodgers hammer Nationals 11-2
