Despite good performances from Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani and San Francisco Giants' Lee Jung-hoo, both teams lost, allowing the San Diego Padres to rise to first place in the National League West for the first time this season.

The Dodgers visited the White House as the 2024 World Series champions prior to their game against the Washington Nationals on the 8th (Korean time) at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump said, “I’m sure you (the Dodgers) will be back here after seeing how successfully you've started this season. I hope to see you again next year,” congratulating the Dodgers on their championship.

However, the Dodgers lost to Washington 4-6, marking their second consecutive defeat. This is the first time this season that the Dodgers have recorded back-to-back losses. Ohtani had a total of 3 hits out of 4 at-bats, including a single in the first inning, a two-run home run in the third, and a triple in the fifth, resulting in 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored, and 1 walk. He swung hard, missing by just one double for a cycle hit, but still resulted in a loss at 4-6.

Following that, a game was held between San Francisco and Cincinnati, where they were competing for the lead in the National League West. Lee Jung-hoo started as the number 3 center fielder and recorded 1 hit out of 4 at-bats. Although he only had one hit, it was a powerful ball that could have been a hit at every plate appearance. Notably, in the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first base, he hit a strong ball off Cincinnati's starting pitcher Hunter Greene's 99.6 mph (160.3 km/h) four-seam fastball, but it was caught at the warning track by the right fielder. The ball had a speed of 103.7 mph (166.9 km/h) with a distance of 384 feet (117 m), a hit that would have been a home run in 19 parks.

Lee Jung-hoo produced a hit in his last at-bat of the ninth inning with two outs after a persistent battle against Greene, going to 7 pitches, hitting a 99.7 mph (160.5 km/h) four-seam fastball. This marks his 8th consecutive game with a hit. Greene, shaken by Lee Jung-hoo's hit, also walked Matt Chapman and ultimately left the mound, failing to secure a shutout win. However, with two outs and runners on first and second, Ramos' well-hit ball was caught by the left fielder's diving catch, resulting in a loss of 0-2.

With both the Dodgers and San Francisco losing, San Diego, which had been in third place in the division, won 5-4 against the Athletics. With this victory, San Diego has overtaken both the Dodgers and San Francisco, climbing to the top of the division for the first time this year.

This season, the National League West has seen one of the most competitive ranking races in its history during the early part of the season. As of the 4th, the Dodgers had a perfect record of 8 wins in 8 games, San Diego had a perfect record of 7 wins in 7 games, sharing the top two positions in the division, while San Francisco, despite recording 5 wins and 1 loss with a winning percentage of .833, had to settle for third place.

San Diego fell to third place after suffering a two-game losing streak on the 6th, while the Dodgers, with a record of 9 wins and 1 loss, took first place, and San Francisco, with 7 wins and 1 loss, took second place. On the 7th, after the Dodgers lost and San Francisco won, San Francisco finally climbed to first place in the division.

However, San Francisco could only hold the top spot for one day. On that day, with both the Dodgers and San Francisco losing while San Diego won, San Diego finally achieved the top spot in the division. San Diego has a record of 9 wins and 2 losses with a winning percentage of .818, San Francisco has 8 wins and 2 losses with a percentage of .800, and the Dodgers are at 9 wins and 3 losses with a percentage of .750.

This year, the predominant prediction was that the Dodgers, who won the World Series last year, would take the division championship. In fact, the Dodgers started with a winning streak of 8 games, including two wins in the Tokyo Series, setting a new record for the most consecutive wins to start a season as defending champions. However, the pursuits of San Francisco and San Diego are formidable. All three teams are in a situation where a slight losing streak might completely push them out of the ranking competition in the early season. Fans are keenly interested in how the fierce ranking competition in the National League West will conclude.

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