Mookie Betts and Max Muncy combined for five RBI but defense let the Los Angeles Dodgers late in an 11-8 loss to the San Diego Padres in the series opener at Dodger Stadium.
After the Padres took an early 1-0 lead, Betts tied the game on his 12th leadoff home run of the season. That also was Betts’ 48th career leadoff homer, which tied him with Ian Kinsler for fifth all-time.
Furthermore, only Alfonso Soriano hit more leadoff home runs in a single season, when he slugged 13 in 2003. Betts’ 12 leadoff homers is tied with Brady Anderson (1996), Soriano (2007) and George Springer (2019) for second-most in one year.
In the second inning, Miguel Rojas was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. That wound up being their lone run scored despite Betts and Freddie Freeman getting to bat with the bases full as well.
The missed opportunity proved costly as the Padres tied the game in the top of the third, though the Dodgers responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning.
They jumped back ahead on Muncy’s solo home run with one out, which gave him 35 this season. Muncy joined Pete Alonso as the only players with four seasons of at least 35 homers since 2018.
Muncy additionally remains on track to potentially break Duke Snider’s Dodgers franchise record of five consecutive seasons with 35 home runs.
Chris Taylor’s RBI single extended the Dodgers’ lead and Padres starter Pedro Avila was removed after walking Miguel Rojas to load the bases. Betts atoned for his missed opportunity earlier in the game by driving a three-run double to center field.
Betts became the third player in MLB history with 100 RBI from the leadoff spot in one season. He’s tied with Charlie Blackmon (103 RBI in 2017) for the all-time record, with Darin Erstad (100 in 2000) sitting in second place.
The hard contact Gavin Stone had allowed through much of the start caught up to him as Manny Machado’s two-run homer trimmed the Dodgers’ lead to 7-4 in the fourth inning. Stone retired the side in order in the fifth but somewhat curiously was left in the game.
That backfired as Machado hit his second homer of the night and Caleb Ferguson wound up allowing the game-tying run to score before getting the final two outs of the inning.
The game remained tied until errors by Taylor and Evan Phillips in the ninth inning cost the Dodgers on Juan Soto’s three-run home run. Xander Bogaerts hit a second homer off Phillips in the inning that loomed large as the Dodgers mounted a small rally against Josh Hader.
J.D. Martinez’s two-out RBI single kept them alive and Kiké Hernández’s walk loaded the bases, but Taylor was retired to end the game as the winning run at the plate.
Dodgers magic number to clinch NL West
With their loss, the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the National League West remained seven. The team is closing in on a 10th division title in the last 11 seasons.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
