Teoscar Hernández caps thrilling walk-off win for Dodgers
Will Smith and Freddie Freeman deliver two-out doubles to tie it, then Hernández singles in Freeman as the Dodgers edge the Diamondbacks in a seesaw game that includes Shohei Ohtani’s 27th homer, 6-5.
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani just about made Japanese Heritage Night his very own Tuesday. He just needed a little help to make the evening a complete success.
Ohtani’s 433-foot home run in the seventh inning came in front of a sold-out crowd and gave the Dodgers a brief lead that quickly evaporated.
Down to their last out with nobody on base, consecutive doubles from Will Smith and Freddie Freeman tied the score. Teoscar Hernandez followed with a game-ending single to left field that gave the Dodgers a 6-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
An eighth-inning throwing error from right-hander Blake Treinen allowed the Diamondbacks to tie the score and former Dodger Joc Pederson hit a chest-thumping home run in the ninth to give Arizona a 5-4 lead.
But the Dodgers still had enough production remaining on a festive night when Japanese singers, musicians and actors took part in pregame ceremonies. Ohtani proved to be one of the bigger attractions and it hardly was a surprise.
The seventh-inning home run was Ohtani’s 27th of the season and his 10th in his last 14 games.
As the ball soared well over the wall in right-center some 433 feet away, Ohtani stood at home plate and admired his work. Until then, it was the injured Yoshinobu Yamamoto who had been the most visible of the Dodgers’ two Japanese-born players.
Yamamoto took part in multiple pregame ceremonies. Ohtani nearly owned the night.
The Dodgers lost the momentum a half-inning later. Gabriel Moreno, who returned from a two-week absence because of a sprained left thumb, walked to lead off the eighth against Treinen.
Jake McCarthy laid down a bunt but Treinen’s throw to first got past Gavin Lux, who was covering the bag, and Moreno scored all the way from first base as the ball rolled into foul territory halfway into right field.
One inning later, Pederson yanked a home run down the right field line on an 0-and-2 pitch from Evan Phillips. It was Pederson’s 11th of the season and the fourth of his career against the Dodgers after he departed following the 2020 season.
With his back to the wall Tuesday, Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller showed his promise, yet he remains a work in progress during a season of interruption.
The two-run home run Miller allowed to the Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker in the fourth wasn’t much different from what Miller’s teammates have dealt with. The homer was Walker’s fifth in seven games against the Dodgers this season and his 23rd against the club in 10 seasons.
Miller then loaded the bases in the inning with nobody out before wiggling out of the jam. Over five innings, Miller gave up two runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. White right-hander Evan Phillips (1-0) was tagged for Pederson’s home run, he earned the win when the Dodgers rallied in the bottom of the inning.
More to come on this story.