Shohei Ohtani hit his 41st home run of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers bucked their trend against Eric Lauer, but it was the Toronto Blue Jays coming away with a 5-4 win Sunday afternoon to avoid being swept.
Lauer entered a 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 12 starts against the Dodgers. Within that, he was 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five career starts at Dodger Stadium, but hadn’t pitched there since 2022.
The Blue Jays provided Lauer with a 1-0 lead, thanks in part to Andy Pages booting the ball in the gap while backing up Alex Call on his attempt at a running catch.
Ohtani immediately erased the deficit with his MLB-leading 11th leadoff home run of the season. Ohtani’s 41st home run overall this year tied him with Kyle Schwarber for the National League lead.
Freddie Freeman added onto Lauer’s early woes by going the other way for a solo home run of his own.
In the second inning, Miguel Rojas hit a leadoff double and Ohtani was intentionally walked with one out. That decision backfired as Mookie Betts continued to show signs of emerging from a season-long slump with a single to load the bases. Freeman later drew a two-out walk that put the Dodgers ahead 3-1.
Lauer pitched just three innings and allowed the three runs.
The Dodgers failed to add any insurance against the Blue Jays’ bullpen, which ultimately cost them as their relief pitchers couldn’t follow Tyler Glasnow’s lead.
Glasnow battled through some command troubles early in the game and limited Toronto to just two runs over 5.2 innings. The Blue Jays didn’t score their second run off Glasnow until Ty France’s soft flare with two outs in the sixth.
Anthony Banda stranded the inherited runner to end the sixth, and Justin Wrobleski followed in the seventh but came out after retiring two of three batters faced. Ben Casparius got the final out of the seventh inning, but Blake Treinen surrendered back-to-back home runs in the eighth.
The Dodgers worked the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning and tied the game on Freeman’s second RBI walk of the day.
But that was all for naught as Ernie Clement hit Alex Vesia’s first pitch of the ninth inning for what held as a game-winning home run.
The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with Ohtani and Betts both coming up empty to end the game.
Shohei Ohtani’s home run pace
Ohtani now is on pace to hit 56 home runs this season, which would set a new career high. That mark currently is the 54 homers Ohtani hit last year as part of becoming the first player in MLB history to have a 50-50 season.
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