Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers overcame a flat performance in the opener of their final homestand of the season, earning a 6-4 comeback win against the Colorado Rockies.
Ohtani received a standing ovation prior to his first at-bat of the game and “MVP” chants throughout the night. He then electrified Dodger Stadium with a go-ahead, two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Already having made MLB history as the first player with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season, Ohtani continues adding onto his record amid a push to effectively wrap up the National League MVP Award.
Ohtani’s 52nd home run of the season was the Dodgers’ second of the game off Kyle Freeland. Ohtani later added his 52nd stolen base as well.
Freeland had largely kept L.A. in check before surrendering a solo homer to Andy Pages that cut the Dodgers’ deficit in half.
Pages to that point had two of the Dodgers’ three hits off Freeland and improved his batting average against left-handers to .361. The mark is fifth-best among players with a minimum of 100 plate appearances against lefties.
The Dodgers navigated a bullpen game relatively well as manager Dave Roberts called on eight different pitchers to get through the night. Ryan Brasier was utilized as an opener for the third time this season.
Joe Kelly ran into trouble in the second inning as the Rockies twice loaded the bases, including the first instance with nobody out. But Kelly worked a high-wire act to escape the jams while only allowing one run on a groundout.
Daniel Hudson later gave up a solo home run to Charlie Blackmon as his recent struggles continued. Just as soon as Ohtani provided the Dodgers with a lead, Alex Vesia coughed it up on a game-tying home run on an 0-2 pitch in the sixth inning.
The back-and-forth affair continued into the bottom of the sixth with Teoscar Hernández’s solo blast putting the Dodgers back ahead. The home run was Hernández’s 30th of the season and has him just two away from tying a career high that was set in 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Friday’s game was the 11th time this season Ohtani and Hernández homered in the same game. That’s tied for fourth-most among duos in Dodgers franchise history. Former Brooklyn teammates Duke Snider and Gil Hodges hold the lead with 14 such games during the 1953 season.
Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly and Hernández’s RBI infield single in the seventh inning created some breathing room for the Dodgers pitching staff.
Dodgers magic number
With their win, the Dodgers kept pace with the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in baseball and lowered their magic number to clinch the NL West to five.
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