Freeman homers, Ohtani triples as Dodgers edge Diamondbacks
PHOENIX (Interstat) — Shohei Ohtani delivered a double and a triple, Freddie Freeman homered and drove in two runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers held off a furious rally by the Arizona Diamondbacks for a 6-5 victory Tuesday night at Chase Field.
The Dodgers improved to 39-22, while the Diamondbacks fell to 32-28. The game drew 32,829 fans and lasted 3 hours, 7 minutes.
Dodgers left-hander Eric Lauer provided a quality start, allowing two earned runs on five hits with one strikeout over 4 2/3 innings. He left with a 4-2 lead. Blake Treinen earned the win, pitching a third of an inning without allowing a hit or a run, and Tanner Scott struck out the side in the ninth for his sixth save. Michael Soroka took the loss, surrendering four earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts over six innings.
Los Angeles wasted no time establishing control. Ohtani led off the game with a double to right field. After Andy Pages struck out, Freeman crushed a 1-0 pitch over the right-center field wall for his ninth home run, scoring Ohtani and giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Mookie Betts walked, but Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy could not extend the inning.
The Dodgers added two more in the second. Ryan Ward grounded out, then Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland strung together singles. Ohtani stepped to the plate and ripped a triple to right field, plating Rushing and Freeland and pushing the lead to 4-0.
Arizona cut into the deficit in the third inning. After Tommy Troy and Ketel Marte made outs, Corbin Carroll launched a solo home run to left field, his eighth of the season. Gabriel Moreno grounded out to end the inning with the score 4-1.
The Diamondbacks drew closer in the fifth. Jorge Barrosa singled, Tommy Troy singled, and Marte lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Barrosa. Carroll struck out, and Moreno walked, but Nolan Arenado flied out to left, leaving the score 4-2.
Los Angeles extended its lead in the seventh. Rushing led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Freeland, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Pages. After Soroka was replaced by Jonathan Loáisiga, Freeman singled, Betts singled to left to score Ohtani, and Tucker walked to load the bases. Muncy struck out, but the Dodgers had a 6-2 advantage.
The pivotal moment came in the bottom of the seventh. The Diamondbacks mounted a three-run rally. Marte walked, Carroll flied out, and Moreno walked. Arenado doubled to left, scoring Marte and Moreno to make it 6-4. Ryan Waldschmidt struck out, Ildemaro Vargas walked, and Geraldo Perdomo singled to load the bases. Dalton Rushing challenged a pitch result that was confirmed, and Pavin Smith walked, forcing in Arenado and trimming the lead to 6-5. Tommy Troy grounded into a force out to end the inning.
Both bullpens held firm over the final two innings. In the eighth, Kevin Ginkel retired the Dodgers in order. In the bottom half, Will Klein worked around a single and a double play grounder from Arenado. In the ninth, Scott allowed a one-out single to Vargas, but got Perdomo on a sacrifice bunt and Smith to ground out to seal the win.
The Dodgers scored six runs on 10 hits. Ohtani went 2 for 4 with a double, a triple and two RBIs. Freeman went 3 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs. For the Diamondbacks, Carroll went 2 for 5 with a home run and an RBI. Arenado doubled and drove in two runs. Arizona collected 11 hits.
The victory gave the Dodgers a split of the two-game series after Arizona won 4-1 on Monday. The teams meet again Wednesday in the finale before Los Angeles returns home to face the Los Angeles Angels.
Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Los Angeles 8, Arizona 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Dodgers a 61.20 percent probability to win. The Dodgers were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 11 runs went under the over-under line of 9.