The Los Angeles Dodgers hit six home runs against the Boston Red Sox to lead them to a 9-6 win and a sweep to start the second half of their season.
In the first inning, Freddie Freeman put the Dodgers on the board first and started the home run party with his 16th of the season. Teoscar Hernández hit his 20th of the year in the third inning, which gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.
Gavin Lux joined in on the fun in the fourth inning with a solo blast, which marked his fourth consecutive at-bat with an extra-base hit. He homered and doubled on Saturday, and did the same thing on Sunday.
Lux’s double came in the first inning and also tied the game at 2-2.
The Dodgers added two more in the fifth inning, starting with Austin Barnes blasting his first home run of the season.
Ohtani hit the Dodgers’ fifth homer of the game, and it was a majestic shot that carried 473 feet, the third-longest home run in baseball this season and the longest at Dodger Stadium in 10 years.
It was also Ohtani’s seventh homer of the year of 450 feet or further. Ohtani now has 30 homers and 70 RBI on the year while hitting .315. He’s also swiped 23 bases with a 1.038 OPS.
The Dodgers added more runs in the eighth when Lux singled and stole second base before he scored on a single from Cavan Biggio. With Biggio on second, Jason Heyward blasted the club’s sixth homer of the game to put them up by six.
James Paxton turned in a solid start, giving the club five innings while allowing three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and four walks. The long ball and walks continue to be a problem for Paxton, but he’s still managed to keep the Dodgers in the game more often than not.
Paxton allowed a two-run homer to Jarren Duran in the first inning, but responded by throwing four consecutive shutout innings. Three of his walks also came in that first inning before he escaped from a jam with two runners stranded.
The final run he allowed came in the sixth inning when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tried to squeeze out another inning from the Big Maple. But that didn’t work out as he allowed a walk and single before being replaced by Joe Kelly.
Kelly struck out two hitters, but then allowed a run-scoring single. He was then replaced by Ryan Yarbrough when the Red Sox pinch-hit with a lefty. Yarbrough ended up keeping the Red Sox off the board until Evan Phillips took over in the ninth.
Phillips allowed two runs, continuing his recent trend of poor performance. He left the game with the bases loaded and one out, which put the tying run at the plate.
Daniel Hudson was called upon and allowed a run, but still managed to close out the game.
Miguel Rojas exists with injury
Miguel Rojas went 0-for-1 on Sunday prior to being removed at the start of the fourth inning. Hernández slid over to shortstop and Biggio entered the game off the bench to play third base.
The Dodgers then announced Rojas left the game early because of right forearm tightness.
It’s the first time this season the veteran shortstop has dealt with an injury. Rojas was slowed by foot and calf issues during Spring Training last year, and his workload has since been a factor for the Dodgers to monitor.
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