Dodgers home runs finish off home sweep of Red Sox
07/21/2024 09:54 PM
Dodgers hit a season-high 6 home runs in the win, then survive a scare in the 9th
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers fell behind before even getting to bat, but then simply powered their way through it, hitting five home runs to finish off a sweep of the Red Sox, 9-6 on Sunday evening at Dodger Stadium.
The home runs came from the likely and the unexpected, but they mostly came often.
The top three hitters in the Dodgers lineup each homered. Freddie Freeman hit his second home run of the weekend, Teoscar Hernández hit his first since winning the Home Run Derby, and Shohei Ohtani hit a ball damn near out of the stadium. Ohtani's 473-foot blast made him the fifth-fastest to 30 home runs in a season in franchise history.
Gavin Lux, who tied the game with an RBI double in the first inning, homered in the fourth, giving him extra-base hits in four consecutive at-bats dating back to Saturday. It's been a trying season at the plate to say the least for Lux, who added an RBI single in the eighth as well. After the weekend power spree, Lux is now hitting .225/.276/.333 with a 75 wRC+, his .609 OPS the highest it's been this season.
Austin Barnes has been heating up at the plate for a while, but his fifth-inning home run added a new dimension as it was his first of the year. Barnes now has a nine-game hit streak, the best of his career, hitting .407/.429/.556 since June 21.
All five of those home runs were hit against Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford, who became the eighth member of an ignominious club — pitchers who allowed five home runs in a game to the Dodgers. That's a list that dates back to Harry Perkowski of Cincinnati in 1954.
Only the last two of the home runs — by Barnes and Ohtani — were hit off cutters by Kutter.
Jason Heyward, fresh off the injured list, homered off Kenley Jansen in the eighth to give the Dodgers a season-high six home runs.
Things could have been a lot worse in this one, as three pitches into the game, the Red Sox led 2-0, thanks to a Romy Gonzalez double and Jarren Duran home run, the fourth extra-base hit of the weekend series for Duran.
That was a rough start for James Paxton, who later walked two in the inning and needed 26 pitches to escape the frame. It wasn't ideal after the Dodgers used six relievers to win Saturday's 11-inning game.
"As a veteran you understand where we're at, coming off a long game, and deployed a lot of guys in the pen," manager Dave Roberts said prior to Sunday's game. "But we had that situation in San Francisco where we needed, and we couldn't get that from him. I know he's aware of it, and we need him to pitch well today."
The game in San Francisco was June 30, one day after the Dodgers used all eight active relievers and needed Paxton to pitch deep. Instead, he lasted only four innings and allowed nine run.
But Paxton settled down nicely after that, getting through five without giving up another run, and struck out seven on the night. He even started the sixth inning, but was pulled after opening the frame with a walk and a single. One of those runs later scored.
That was as close as Boston got the rest of the way, as the Dodgers home runs held up, and they completed their first series sweep since June 24-26 in Chicago against the other Sox team.
The ninth inning got dicey, as Evan Phillips was warming with a three-run lead in the bottom of the eighth, but since he was ready he got the ball with a six-run lead in the ninth. He allowed three runs on three hits and only got one out. Phillips left after consecutive walks loaded the bases, but Daniel Hudson cleaned up the mess, getting the final two outs to preserve the win.
Phillips has allowed multiple runs in each of his last three outings, and has given up at least one run in six of his last eight games.
Miguel Rojas left the game after the third inning with left forearm tightness. I'm sure we'll find out more information after the game.
Sunday particulars
Home runs: Freddie Freeman (16), Teoscar Hernández (20), Gavin Lux (5), Austin Barnes (1), Shohei Ohtani (30), Jason Heyward (5); Jarren Duran (12)
WP — James Paxton (8-2): 5+ IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
LP — Kutter Crawford (6-8): 5 IP, 7 hits, 6 runs, 2 strikeouts
Sv — Daniel Hudson (6): 2 up, 2 down
Up next
The Dodgers welcome the rival Giants to Los Angeles for their final meeting of 2024, a four-game series full of newly-added pitchers. River Ryan gets the ball on Monday night (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), while frequent Dodgers for Blake Snell starts on the mound for San Francisco.
