WASHINGTON — Shohei Ohtani had three doubles to improve his major-league-leading batting average to .371, rookie Landon Knack got his first victory and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Washington Nationals 11-2 on Wednesday night.
The Dodgers had a season-high 20 hits — their most in a game since they had 24 on May 26, 2022, against the Diamondbacks — en route to their third straight victory, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith each having four hits and Andy Pages homering.
Ohtani went 3-for-6, hitting RBI doubles in the eighth and ninth innings. He had three doubles for the first time in his MLB career.
Ohtani leads the majors in slugging percentage (.695), OPS (1.128), extra-base hits (21) and doubles (14). He is hitting .429 during his nine-game hitting streak.
“His average exit velocity on balls he puts in play, he’s got to be in a category by himself,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The ball just does different things when it comes off his bat.”
A night after ripping a 118.7 mph solo shot in the ninth inning — the hardest-hit home run of his career — Ohtani smashed a 115.6 mph double to right-center in the first inning off Jake Irvin . Ohtani came around two batters later on Smith’s single.