The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their strong play on the road trip by defeating the Texas Rangers, 11-5, to snap their six-game winning streak.
Freddie Freeman carried the Dodgers offense early and Will Smith helped break the game open late. A bulk of the Dodgers’ damage on the night came with two outs, and they lead MLB with 231 runs scored in such situations.
Nathaniel Lowe’s two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning provided the Rangers with an early lead, but Freeman’s double in the third brought in a pair to tie the game. J.D. Martinez’s RBI single put the Dodgers ahead but he was thrown out attempting to stretch it to a double, ending the inning.
Their lead was short-lived as the Rangers loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth and pulled even on Jonah Heim’s sacrifice fly. Travis Jankowski’s sac fly gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead.
That wound up being the final run Tony Gonsolin allowed in a second consecutive start of five innings pitched. He was aided by DeLuca making a diving catch for the second out in the bottom of the fifth, and a leaping grab at the wall on the next batter to end the inning.
That loomed all the more key when Freeman went to the left-center field gap once again in the fifth inning, but cleared the fence the second time around for a solo home run.
After Corey Seager’s leadoff home run against Alex Vesia put Texas back ahead in the sixth inning, the Dodgers responded with seven unanswered runs. Unfortunately for Seager, he later left the game due to a sprained right thumb.
The stretch began with Martinez working a walk with the bases loaded in the seventh, and Max Muncy beating out a would-be inning-ending double play ball to bring in a go-ahead run on the force out.
Will Smith then provided insurance in the eighth inning on a two-run double, and Martinez followed with an RBI single for his third hit of the game.
With each big hit the Dodgers had, players unveiled a new dance move celebration that Freeman told Kirsten Watson on SportsNet LA was inspired by his viral video from the Blue Diamond Gala during Usher’s concert.
Mookie Betts punctuated the outburst with a two-run double in the ninth.
Dodgers bullpen help
Caleb Ferguson took the mound in the bottom of the eighth with a 9-5 lead but found himself in a jam as the Rangers loaded the bases with one out. A miscue on the bases when Josh Jung lifted a fly ball to right field resulted in Texas running themselves out of the inning.
After the Dodgers had taken a comfortable lead, Justin Bruihl pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to wrap up the win.
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