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Dodgers Highlights: Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani & Jason Heyward Home Runs Power Win Over Reds

Sebastian Abdón Ibarra
3 Min Read
May 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) celebrates with left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers evened up the series with a 7-3 win against the Cincinnati Reds thanks to a three home run night as a team.

After a clean top of the first from James Paxton, Mookie Betts got the Dodgers on the board first with a leadoff homer against Frankie Montas.

Later in the third inning, Shohei Ohtani made it a 3-0 Dodgers lead with his two-run home run on the first annual Shohei Ohtani Day in the city of Los Angeles that was made official earlier in the day.

The Dodgers went scoreless until the seventh inning, which allowed the Reds to crawl their way back into the game with three straight one-run innings in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. With Ohtani in scoring position, the Reds elected to intentionally walk Freddie Freeman which brought Will Smith to the plate.

Smith came through with a clutch two-out single to bring home Ohtani and give the lead back to the Dodgers, and Freeman later scored on a wild pitch make it a 5-3 L.A. lead.

In his first game back from injury, Jason Heyward homered in the eighth inning to extend the Dodgers lead to 7-3.

Paxton pitched a solid six innings, but received a no-decision thanks to the three runs he gave up in his final three innings of work, including solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings. He gave up three runs in a start for just the second time this season, but he also finished with no walks allowed for a second consecutive start.

Dodgers restart 4-runs or less streak

A day after the Reds broke the Dodgers streak of allowing 4-runs or fewer at 22 games, which beat the previous franchise record of 17 games, Paxton and the bullpen rebounded to hold their opponents to three runs. A big reason for this success has been the Dodgers bullpen, which has been tops in the Majors since April 21.

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Sebastian Ibarra covers the Los Angeles Dodgers as a staff writer for Dodger Blue. He previously worked as a Marketing/Communications intern for the Ontario Jr Reign, and a staff writer and two time Editor for the Campus Times at the University of La Verne. Sebastian graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2022 from ULV with a major in Communications. His love of sports stems from his baseball career starting at tee-ball and ending his senior year at Servite High School. He is currently Gold Rank in Call of Duty MW3 competitive and is an enjoyer of Detective Comics. Follow him on Twitter: @sebas_abdon.