Betts and Ohtani hit back-to-back homers for a walk-off win
Today at 08:43 PM
by Megan Garcia
When Mookie Betts stepped up to the plate, the Dodger Stadium crowd hadn't finished cheering Shohei Ohtani's game-tying home run. When he connected on a sinker from rookie reliever Seth Halvorsen, the roar of the crowd grew louder.
Betts was down to his final strike when he admired his 19th long ball travel to Right Field Pavilion. He pumped his fist when he rounded first base and tossed his helmet when he stepped on third. His teammates waited for him at home plate to celebrate their 39th comeback victory.
The Dodgers beat the Rockies 6–5 in the series finale on Sunday. They also staved off the San Diego Padres from edging closer to first place in the National League West. The Dodgers continue to lead the division by three games.
The Dodgers are aware of the Padres' movements in the division as they play their own games. Scoreboard watching has become common practice with the regular season in its final days.
"It's really hard (to not look at the scoreboard)," Betts said. "You just got to take care of the task at hand. Sometimes I have a wandering eye and check to see what's going on, but it's really hard. Just try to take care of what you can control."
The Dodgers have tried to pad their divisional lead, but their losses coupled with victories from the Padres haven't made it possible. However, the Dodgers' walk-off win keeps them in control heading into a pivotal three-game series against the Padres on Tuesday.
"For us to lose this series, it would have been tough," manager Dave Roberts said. "But after this series win, I feel like we can still continue to be aggressive and go out there and win a series."
The Dodgers left five runners on the base in the first three innings before Teoscar Hernández put the Dodgers on the board in the fourth with a solo home run 418 feet to center field.
A three-run seventh inning had the Dodgers within one run. Kiké Hernández hit a two-run home run and Freddie Freeman followed with an RBI single.
Ohtani, who was 3-for-4 with two stolen bases heading into the ninth, led off the inning with home run №53 to tie the game 5–5. Then, Betts sent the Dodgers into the win column with his walk-off homer.
"You need your stars to play like stars," Roberts said. "For those guys to come through today, it's not easy with the responsibility they have. The emotion was real, and it was good to see."
Yamamoto's Shortest Start Since IL Return
The first inning spelled trouble for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He retired lead-off hitter Charlie Blackmon with a flyout to right field, but then surrendered three singles, two walks and three runs before the next out.
The 35-pitch first inning neared him to the halfway point of his 80-pitch limit. Yamamoto used 18 pitches to hold the Rockies scoreless in the second inning with two strikeouts and a groundout.
The third inning was his last after five batters elevated his pitch count to 79 pitches (47 strikes). He gave up four earned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Where They Stand
The Dodgers maintain their three-game divisional lead in the NL West. Their magic number to clinch the National League West is four.
The Dodgers (93–63) will begin a three-game series against the San Diego Padres (90–66) on Tuesday to finish the final homestand of the regular season.
Betts and Ohtani hit back-to-back homers for a walk-off win was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
