The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the Freeway Series with a 6-2 extra-innings win over the Los Angeles Angels as they erupted for four runs in the 10th inning.
Entering the inning tied 2-2, Miguel Rojas ended up putting the Dodgers ahead with an RBI single to drive in Tommy Edman, the ghost runner. The Angels opted to walk Shohei Ohtani, and Mookie Betts made them pay as he blasted a three-run homer to break the game open.
Walker Buehler continued his upward trend with a solid start against the Angels, showing an ability to both get swing and miss and limit runs. Buehler said after his last start that he feels closer to being an effective pitcher, and with each positive start, he’s showing more progress.
He did allow two home runs, one to Logan O’Hoppe in the second inning and one to Taylor Ward in the fifth, but that was all the Angels could manufacture against him.
Buehler finished his night going five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. His six strikeouts were his most in a start this season since May 18 against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the third, started off by a walk from Miguel Rojas and a triple from Shohei Ohtani that tied the game. They took the lead when Mookie Betts singled him home.
Outside of that, the Dodgers offense was pretty quiet for most of the night and had trouble against Reid Detmers, who struck out 10 hitters over six innings of work.
Shohei Ohtani makes return to Angel Stadium with Dodgers
The game marked Ohtani’s first game playing as a visitor at Angel Stadium. Prior to the series, Ohtani expressed he was looking forward to returning and discussed the importance the stadium has to him.
In his first at-bat, Ohtani was greeted with some cheers from Angels fans and a graphic welcoming him back on the video board, a much more subdued welcome than the Dodgers have given their former stars in recent years.
In his second appearance, Ohtani received some more boos before recording his first hit as a visitor at the Big A.
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