The Los Angeles Dodgers propelled themselves to a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the series opener, thanks to a six-run third inning fueled by three home runs.
Kiké Hernández hit the first homer to start them off, which tied the game at one run each. The Dodgers then loaded the bases on singles from Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts, along with a walk from Shohei Ohtani.
Freddie Freeman then blasted a grand slam to center field, giving the Dodgers a four-run lead. That was Freeman’s sixth career grand slam, and third since last season.
After Freeman’s slam, Will Smith followed with a home run of his own, capping off the six-run inning. That was the 2nd time this season the Dodgers have gone back-to-back. The other was May 6 against the Miami Marlins.
“Really, really good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the at-bats that inning. “Kiké made some adjustments with the hitting coaches and stayed on a ball that was out over and using the big part of the field, which was great, seeing him hit a homer.
“And then Miguel Rojas followed with the base hit the other way, which was nice. Mookie did the same thing, and Shohei took a great at-bat, took a walk, and set the stage for Freddie. So it was just a really good offensive inning.”
Hit it near Miggy Ro, and you're going to be out.
(🎥: @ChadMoriyama) pic.twitter.com/Sdq4tB3sjy— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) May 21, 2024
Kiké ties it up.
(🎥: @Dodgers) pic.twitter.com/u26fJlkz8d— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) May 21, 2024
Freddie Freeman loves Los Slamgeles.
(🎥: @MLB) pic.twitter.com/EpA2Ai5cJC— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) May 21, 2024
Will Smith joins the fun.
(🎥: @ChadMoriyama) pic.twitter.com/5g1K0emOrF— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) May 21, 2024
Another W for Yoshinobu. pic.twitter.com/yQYxq5Pv0O
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 21, 2024
Victory formation!
Dodgers x @Yaamava pic.twitter.com/MCfY4up3ER
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 21, 2024
Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. His first seven strikeouts all came on swings and misses, and he showed off his entire arsenal, getting whiffs on the fastball, slider, curveball and splitter.
The first run he allowed came on a double from Kevin Newman, that was followed by a single from Joc Pederson. The second came in the seventh inning on a single from Newman, following a double from Eugenio Suárez.
Yamamoto left the game with exactly 100 pitches, but could have potentially gone deeper in the game.
“He was really good,” Roberts said. “We got him to 100 pitches. I know that I wanted to get him through that seven thing. I just felt that where they were at in the lineup, just thought it was good to give them a different look with Carroll coming up.
“But he was fantastic tonight. The slider, he used a little bit more, the fastball had life, command, and got a lot of swing and miss tonight, and really had his way with those guys. So it was really good to see.”
Dodgers bullpen has mixed results
Anthony Banda followed Yamamoto with a runner already on base, and he allowed a single, but he was able to prevent the runner inherited from scoring.
Elieser Hernández took over in the eighth inning, and he allowed back-to-back homers to cut the Dodgers lead to just two runs. However, Daniel Hudson was able to secure the save with a perfect ninth inning.
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