When the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the ninth inning locked in a 4-4 tie with the San Diego Padres, they faced what seemed to be a near-impossible task with Mason Miller entering the game.
Miller has been nearly perfect in his tenure with the Padres, and he started his latest appearance by retiring Will Smith. But Miller then walked Max Muncy with one out, slightly opening the door for the Dodgers.
Alex Call entered to pinch-run for Smith, and while trying to take second base, the Padres appeared to have him picked off. However, Miller threw the ball away and it went down the line into right field, allowing Call to advance all the way to third base.
With the winning run just 90 feet away, Andy Pages stepped to the plate against the best reliever in baseball. Miller quickly got into an 0-2 count, but Pages continued to battle. Ball one, foul pitch, ball two, and three more foul balls.
On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Pages took an elevated fastball and hit it into the outfield, allowing Call to score on the sacrifice fly and giving the Dodgers what ended up being the game-winning run.
After the game, Pages spoke about the at-bat, sharing his confidence in the moment despite facing an opposing presence on the mound, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group.
“I felt good hitting against him, and more so when the runner advanced to third,” Pages said in Spanish. “In my mind, I never thought he was gonna strike me out or dominate me. I was 100% certain I was gonna move the ball forward.”
Freddie Freeman had two great at-bats of his own earlier in the game. He put the Dodgers ahead in the first inning with a two-run homer against Griffin Canning, and then he tied the game with a solo shot in the sixth inning versus Jeremiah Estrada.
Freeman has spent 17 years at the Major League level, and he said the at-bat Pages took against Miller was one of the best he’s ever seen.
“It was one of the greatest at-bats I’ve ever seen in person, and I’ve been playing a long time. That at-bat was incredible,” gushed Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who hit two home runs, the second tying the score at 4-4 in the sixth inning. “To hit 95 (mph) is hard, to hit 100 is even harder, to hit 102 is even probably the hardest thing to do, and to foul off 102s back to back, sliders at 87, 88 – one of the best at-bats I’ve ever seen.”
Call, who just reached home safely and confirmed by replay, saw the at-bat from third base, and he also had praise for the job Pages did at the plate.
“It was awesome,” Call said of Pages’ at-bat. “He was battling. Obviously we all know how good Miller has been. Just having him grind it out, battle, spoil pitches – it was tremendous. Incredible job by Andy and all the guys tonight.”
Pages leads the Dodgers with 42 RBI this season, far ahead of the second-place Shohei Ohtani, who has 25. Pages is also tied with Liam Hicks of the Miami Marlins for the most RBI in baseball thus far. The top six RBI-men all come from the National League, with the highest in the American League, Jonathan Aranda, checking in at seventh on the list with 35.
Pages is having a special season overall, batting .294/.343/.506 with 10 home runs and six stolen bases while also adding elite defense in center field.
Meanwhile, the loss was Miller’s first of his career with the Padres. Prior to Tuesday, he last was charged with a loss on May 17, 2025, as a member of the Athletics.
Andy Pages ‘put in the work’ on defense
When Pages first got into professional baseball, he was projected to be a power-hitting corner outfielder with an elite arm, but not many skills outside of the power and arm strength. However, Pages has developed into a true five-tool player at a premium defensive spot, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts credited that to the work he’s put in.
“No. 1, I think his body has changed over a few years,” Roberts began. “I think his intent to become a really, really good defender in center field, he’s valued it. He’s put in the work.
“If you look at center fielders in the big leagues, both sides of the ball, he’s got to be top three or four. And just as far as the defense part of it, he takes real pride in it. That’s something that a lot of young players don’t get there, or they get there late. They care about their hitting more.
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