SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — Shohei Ohtani homered on the first pitch of the game and threw five sharp innings, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-0 shutout of the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night at PETCO Park.

Ohtani, who also earned the win on the mound, sent Randy Vásquez’s high fastball 398 feet to center field for his eighth home run of the season and his 27th career leadoff homer. The blast set the tone for a game in which the Dodgers never trailed, scoring single runs in the first, second, fifth and ninth innings.

On the mound, Ohtani allowed three hits, struck out four and walked two, lowering his ERA to 0.73 over eight starts. He was lifted after the fifth inning, turning a one-run lead over to a bullpen that completed a five-hit shutout. Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Treinen, Will Klein and Kyle Hurt each pitched a scoreless inning, combining for four strikeouts and no walks. The Dodgers’ pitching staff walked only three batters in the game.

The Padres managed just five hits and never advanced a runner past third base. San Diego left fielder Nick Castellanos had two hits, but the Padres went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and grounded into three double plays.

The game was scoreless only until Ohtani’s first swing. After the leadoff homer, Mookie Betts flew out to center, but Freddie Freeman doubled to left. Kyle Tucker walked, but Andy Pages grounded into a double play to end the inning.

In the second, the Dodgers added another run without a hit. Max Muncy led off with a double to right, and Will Smith singled to put runners at the corners. Teoscar Hernández then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Muncy for a 2-0 lead. Hyeseong Kim singled, putting runners at first and second, but Ohtani and Betts both flew out to center to end the inning.

The third inning saw Freeman double again – his 13th of the season – but he was stranded at third after a lineout, a flyout and a groundout.

San Diego’s best chance came in the fourth. Fernando Tatis Jr. walked, and Miguel Andujar reached on a forceout. Gavin Sheets singled to put two men on, but Manny Machado popped out and Xander Bogaerts flew out to end the threat.

The Dodgers extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth. Ohtani and Betts both walked to open the inning. Freeman grounded into a forceout, advancing Ohtani to third. Tucker then singled to right, scoring Ohtani. Pages grounded into another double play to end the inning.

The Padres loaded the bases in the fifth on singles by Bryce Johnson and Nick Castellanos, followed by a forceout and a walk. But Tatis grounded into a double play, shortstop Betts to second baseman Kim to first baseman Freeman, ending the inning.

From the sixth inning on, the Dodgers’ bullpen stymied the Padres. Henriquez worked a 1-2-3 sixth. Treinen struck out one in a perfect seventh. Klein pitched a clean eighth, and Hurt allowed two hits but no runs in the ninth, striking out one.

The Dodgers added an insurance run in the ninth. Hernández led off against Ron Marinaccio with his sixth home run of the season, a fly ball to left-center, making it 4-0. The blast capped a three-hit night for the Dodgers offense, which collected 10 hits overall.

Ohtani finished the night 1 for 4 with a home run, a walk and a strikeout. He also scored twice. Betts had a double and a single, Freeman had two doubles, and Kim had a single. For San Diego, Vásquez took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings with three walks and no strikeouts. Yuki Matsui pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Wandy Peralta worked 1 2/3 scoreless, and Marinaccio surrendered the ninth-inning homer.

The attendance was 41,888, and the game lasted 2 hours, 45 minutes.

The Dodgers improved to 31-19, while the Padres fell to 29-20. Los Angeles has now won two of three games in the series, following a 5-4 win Tuesday and a 1-0 loss Monday. Ohtani has been a key contributor in all three games, going 2 for 3 with an RBI in Tuesday’s win and 2 for 3 in Monday’s loss.

The Dodgers will travel to Milwaukee for a three-game series beginning Friday, while the Padres will host the Athletics for a three-game set starting Friday.

The Interstat game simulator had projected a final score of San Diego 6, Los Angeles 4. The Interstat ELO system had given the Dodgers a 54.90 percent probability to win. Los Angeles was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 4 went over the over-under line of 7.