Ryan Ward had a game to remember in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 9-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon.
Ward, starting in left field, went 1-for-2 with his first career Major League home run. He led off the bottom of the bottom of the fourth inning with a blast against Andrew Painter that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0.
“That was incredible,” Ward told Kirsten Watson on SportsNet LA after the game. “All the guys were happy for me too. It was a really cool moment. I was happy with it.”
The rookie relied on information from his first at-bat to come up with a big swing his second time facing Painter.
“He had just thrown a heater down and in for a ball. In my first at-bat, he went heater, slider,” Ward recalled. “So I kind of took a chance and sat on a slider. That’s what he threw me. It was up and was able to put a good swing on it.”
Alex Freeland also homered in the Dodgers’ blowout win, which came two at-bats after Ward’s. That was extra special for the 28-year-old, who spent a lot of time with Freeland in the Minor Leagues.
“That was really cool,” Ward said of Freeland’s home run. “We spent the whole morning hitting together, hitting off all the arms on the machine. So to be able to go almost back-to-back like that with him was really cool.”
Ryan Ward’s 2026 stats
Ward is now 3-for-8 with a home run and two RBI in three games across two separate stints with the Dodgers. He made his MLB debut on April 19 and played two games with the Dodgers while Freddie Freeman was on the paternity list.
It was a brief, albeit meaningful stint for Ward, who worked hard to get his first Major League opportunity.
“It does (hit home), it does,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously said of Ward getting his first MLB action. “He’s a guy that when you look at him, he’s never been that big prospect.
“For me, I really believe in meritocracy and performance,” Roberts said on SportsNet LA. “He’s a guy that nothing was given to him. He’s had to earn it, and continue to earn it and continue to prove it. I do relate to that, so I am sensitive to guys like him.”
Ward was called up to the Dodgers for a second time this season as the corresponding roster move to Teoscar Hernández going on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain.
Despite primarily playing first base for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Ward is expected to get most of his playing time in left field as part of a soft platoon with Alex Call.
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