Monday was a night to remember at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers even delivered a memorable ending in the bottom of the ninth.
After two innings to the Marlins, the Dodgers rallied three runs on the back of quality bats, a big swing from Shohei Ohtani and a hard hit from Kyle Tucker, who lined a two-run single to center to lift the Dodgers to a 5-4 victory.
Entering the ninth, the Dodgers seemed to lack any semblance of life.
They haven’t scored since Teoscar Hernandez’s two-run single in the first inning. They blew that lead on Liam Hicks’ three-run homer against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the fifth inning. They left the bases loaded in the seventh. They went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, sliding back into the sluggish form that dogged them most of last week.
But then Andy Buggs drew a walk off Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks. Dalton hit Rushing with the pinch hit and did the same on the next at-bat.
And even though Miguel Rojas failed to drop a sacrifice bunt, instead lofting it to the catcher for the first time in the first inning, Ohtani made sure it didn’t matter — ripping a ground-rule double to right to score one run.
Three batters later, Tucker came to the plate with the bases loaded, after the Marlins intentionally walked Freddie Freeman, removing Fairbanks from the game with an injury, then getting Will Smith’s hit off right-hander Tyler Phillips.
Phillips also got ahead of Tucker with a first-class strike, landing a breakaway in the bottom of the zone.
But when he went there again, the team’s $240 million offseason signing was ready for it, cutting a line to center field in his biggest moment yet in a slow start to the year.
What does it mean
Once again, the Dodgers (20-9) are never out of the game.
Between the second and sixth innings, the team mustered just one hit. In that time, Yamamoto stumbled to a five-inning, four-run outing (three earned) while lacking his typical skill or leadership.
However, their star lineup means that as long as they are within striking distance, they are always able to come back.
That’s what happened in the ninth round, as key passes and big swings gave the team its second win of the year.
Who’s hot?
Hernandez is not known for painting. But improving plate discipline has helped him not only get a string of free bases recently, but also snap out of what has been a two-week slump.
Hernandez started off his Monday night with a home run, driving in the first two runs of the game with his opposite-field single in the first inning. He then walked two, only the second time he had done so this season.
After 14 games from April 7-24 in which he hit .154, Hernandez is now 3-for-8 over the final three days with four runs and four RBIs, raising his season average to .245.
Who is not
At the very least, Smith was back in the lineup Monday after missing two games with back tightness.
However, he continued his recent decline by not only going hitless in five at-bats, but leaving the bases loaded with two runs in the seventh (when he broke his bat on the final and ninth at-bat).
That left Smith on a 1-for-18 streak in his last five games, with a three-run homer last Friday representing his only reprieve. His batting average dropped to .231 and his OPS dropped to .696. Of the club’s regulars, only Tucker has a lower mark in that last category.
the next
Ohtani (2-0, 0.38 ERA) will take the mound Tuesday versus Marlins right-hander Janson Jank (1-2, 3.67 ERA). However, head coach Dave Roberts made it look Monday as if Ohtani would likely only pitch in the game, and also not serve as a designated hitter. That may be partly because Ohtani only gets five days off for the first time this year, and partly because the series finale on Wednesday is the next day’s afternoon start.