The Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks to begin their home stand, with the game proving to be a back and forth one that resulted in a 6-5 walk-off victory.
In the bottom of the ninth inning trailing by one, Will Smith roped a two-out double. Freddie Freeman hit another to tie the game.
Teoscar Hernández provided the walk-off hit.
To get to that point, Shohei Ohtani led off the 1st inning with a double and scored on a single from Teoscar Hernández. The Dodgers scored their second run in the third inning on a fielder’s choice from Hernández.
But the Diamondbacks tied the game in the following inning when Christian Walker smoked a two-run homer.
Walker has now hit 15 home runs at Dodger Stadium since the start of the 2018 season, four more than any other visiting player during that timespan. It also tied Cody Bellinger for the most home runs by any player in their first 40 games at Dodger Stadium.
The D-Backs took the lead in the seventh when Miguel Rojas was unable to field two chances cleanly and Ketel Marte followed with an RBI single. To Rojas’ credit, both plays were ruled hits and unlikely to be made by anyone.
Trailing by a run in the seventh, Ohtani stepped to the plate following a walk to Gavin Lux that led off the inning. He blasted his 27th homer of the season, a continuation of his scorching hot June that will likely see him win Player of the Month honors when MLB announces it.
Prior to that point, Ohtani was 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and RBI.
Blake Treinen was unable to preserve the lead. He allowed a leadoff walk, then made a throwing error that allowed the tying run to cross the plate.
In the ninth inning, the Joc Pederson hit a home run against Evan Phillips to give Arizona the go-ahead and game-winning run.
Although the bullpen has been a strength for the Dodgers this season, tonight proved to be one of their games to forget.
Bobby Miller made the start and had some mixed results. He went five innings, giving up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Dodgers host Japanese Heritage Night
The Dodgers hosted Japanese Heritage Night with crowd of 52,931 fans as the announced attendance. That marked the 9th sellout of the 2024 season for the club.
Prior to the game, the MLB Hall of Fame and Museum held a press conference at Dodger Stadium to unveil some artifacts that will be part of their Transpacific Baseball exhibit that celebrates the legacy of Japanese baseball and MLB. The even featured Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The pair of Dodgers players each made a donation to the museum’s upcoming exhibit. Ohtani donated a commemorative bat and Yamamoto offered his glove from Spring Training.
Both of those items, along with a plethora of more baseball artifacts, will be on display when the exhibit opens.
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