Teoscar Hernández, Shohei Ohtani homer as Dodgers top Phillies in series opener

06.08.2024 07:55

DailyNews.com

Teoscar Hernández, Shohei Ohtani homer as Dodgers top Phillies in series opener

Hernández hits a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the third inning, Ohtani goes deep in the eighth, Tyler Glasnow pitches six innings and Freddie Freeman returns as the Dodgers win the matchup of NL division leaders, 5-3.

Dodgers star Freddie Freeman acknowledges the crowd as he receives a lengthy standing ovation before his first at-bat during the first inning of their game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Freeman had missed the previous eight games as his youngest son Maximus was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder where the immune system begins to attack the nervous system leading to paralysis and breathing issues. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

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LOS ANGELES — While Freddie Freeman received a warm embrace, Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani earned the loudest cheers as the Dodgers tapped into the love and support with their own statement on Monday night.

In a battle of the top two teams in the National League, the Dodgers turned a four-run third inning into a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the third and Ohtani hit a solo shot in the ninth as the Dodgers moved a half-game off the Phillies’ NL lead. They also won a third consecutive game following a 10-day stumble when they were just 2-6. That run included five losses in six games to open a three-city road trip.

Freeman did not play in any of those road games as he stayed by the side of his 3-year-old son through a bout with an autoimmune disorder that caused temporary paralysis and required intubation in order to breathe.

Freeman had an emotional 30-minute press conference before Monday’s game and fought back tears amid the crowd’s support during his first at-bat, eventually striking out in the first inning.

“I wasn’t expecting it but very much appreciated from the Dodgers’ fans,” Freeman said. “Since I’ve gotten here, these three years that I’ve been here, it’s hard to put into words what the Dodgers’ fans have meant to us and our family. It is the true character of this organization’s fans. It’s absolutely incredible.

“They made it really hard to hit in that first at-bat. But I was OK with that. It was one of the most pleasant strikeouts I’ve ever had in my big league career.”

Freeman later singled in the third, immediately following a two-run home run from Hernandez that gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. When he reached first base, the Phillies’ Bryce Harper gave him a hug. His father Fred wiped his brow in relief from the front row of his section.

“Bryce probably texted at least four times during the nine days, really checking in,” Freeman said. “Just the whole Phillies team (but) obviously Bryce.”

As his son Maximus began to improve in recent days, Freeman worked out at El Modena High School and was pleasantly surprised with what he felt was a competitive swing.

“Saturday, I went to my high school and I threw with my dad, I ran the bases and I hit on the field,” said Freeman, who had a third-inning single. “And then (Sunday) I did the same thing. And my body responded. I was OK. So that’s why we (are here) today.”

The Dodgers also used the weekend to regroup, earning a 10-0 victory at Oakland on Saturday night before leaning into the bullpen for a 3-2 victory over the A’s on Sunday afternoon.

Like the Dodgers, the Phillies also have struggled of late. Philadelphia looked every bit the best team in the NL when it rolled to a three-game home sweep over the Dodgers just before the All-Star break.

But the Phillies lost six consecutive games before pulling off a 6-0 road victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. The Phillies entered with a 4-11 record since the break as they are in the midst of a 22-game streak against teams currently .500 or better.

The Dodgers’ four-run third inning came against Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola. When the Dodgers were swept in that three-game series at Philadelphia last month, Nola won one of the games by allowing one run over six innings.

“I thought we hit some mistakes; I thought (Hernandez) hit a mistake,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of his team’s approach against Nola. “… I think for us, he just made more mistakes tonight than he did in Philly.”

The Phillies’ offense did not have enough answers for Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who gave up three runs while striking out nine in six innings, including strikeouts of all three batters in the first inning.

Glasnow (9-6) now has a career-best 164 strikeouts this season, while tying his career best with his 21st start. In his previous outing, last Tuesday at San Diego, Glasnow set a career high in innings for a season.

“Personally, going into it, it was not different, but atmosphere-wise it was a little more energized, yeah,” Glasnow said.

The bullpen did the rest, with new addition Michael Kopech pitching a scoreless seventh inning and Anthony Banda doing the same in the eighth, including strikeouts of Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh. Harper went 1 for 4 and struck out three times.

After Ohtani hit his NL-leading 34th home run of the season in the eighth for a two-run lead, right-hander Daniel Hudson pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.

“It’s been next level,” Roberts said of the bullpen’s performance of late. “I said (Sunday), there has been a lot of noise and things with the bullpen always get more magnified when things aren’t going well but for those guys to be resilient and to keep leaning on each other and being ready when called upon, it’s been impactful.”

When Freeman realized there were no more postgame questions coming his way, he let out an “Ah, thank you.” He remained seated as if to acknowledge the end of a long and emotional day.

“I’m kind of glad it’s over, to be honest,” Freeman had said moments earlier. “I’m tired and worn out, talking all day. Everyone’s asking questions. It’s just an emotional day, really. It’s not like I’m happy it’s over. I’m just worn out. But when you win the game … I was happy to be out there. I really was.

“I didn’t know how it was gonna be when I stepped on the field and what I was going to be feeling, but it was the green grass, the dirt, the fans. It just reminds me how beautiful this game is and why I love it so much. Obviously the 50,000 people that were here made it that much better.”

Welcome back, Freddie. #MaxStrong pic.twitter.com/F12XTTLoqE

— MLB (@MLB) August 6, 2024

Teoscar jumps on the first pitch to give the #Dodgers a 2-run lead! #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/9MKAiOhxA5

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 6, 2024

Shohei pops his 34th homer of the season as the #Dodgers pad the lead.

Catch all the action on #DodgersTV at no extra cost for Spectrum customers with both Internet and mobile services. : https://t.co/i0HWddg9k0 pic.twitter.com/fIA0BZwhM3

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 6, 2024

"To be able to win with Freddie being back for the first time was important for us." @kirsten_watson caught up with Shohei Ohtani to talk about his insurance homer in the 8th and Freddie's return.

Catch all the action on #DodgersTV at no extra cost for Spectrum customers with… pic.twitter.com/84BxYXRnRN

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 6, 2024