Shohei Ohtani hits mammoth home run as Dodgers beat A’s in wild slugfest
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SACRAMENTO –– Dodgers manager Dave Roberts smirked on Monday afternoon when asked for his thoughts on Sutter Health Park.
“I’m not saying it’s Denver,” he quipped, “but the ball does carry.”
Indeed, in the Dodgers’ first visit to the Sacramento Triple-A stadium masquerading as the Athletics’ temporary big-league home, the ball flew … and bounced … and ricocheted … all over the place in a 9-4 win to start a three-game series.
There were 17 hits and three lead changes through the first 3 ½ innings.
There were four home runs and 33 total baserunners by the end of the night.
The Dodgers got one rally started when the ball got lost in the sun in the second inning, as a Kyle Tucker pop fly dropped between two Athletics outfielders to fuel a two-run rally.
The Athletics answered in the bottom half of the inning when Max Muncy (the Athletics’ young third baseman) hit a single past Max Muncy (the Dodgers’ veteran slugger) on a ground ball that kicked off the bag and hopped into shallow left.
On and on the night went, with weird bounces and unusual moments thrilling a crowd of 12,394 in MLB’s most unconventional setting.
Finally, however, the Dodgers (55-30) began to pull away.
Two home runs in the fourth inning negated the early 3-2 deficit, with Muncy tying the game with his 17th of the year before Andy Pages put them in front with a two-run blast for his 16th of the season.
Then, in the sixth, Shohei Ohtani provided the biggest highlight of the night, clobbering a three-run homer that would’ve been gone in any of MLB’s 30 ballparks, flying an estimated 432 feet for the second-longest of his team-leading 18 big flies this season.
“Shohei has been on a heater,” Roberts said of Ohtani, who is hitting .361 with 12 home runs since May 12. “The last six weeks, he’s been the best player in baseball.”
Along the way, Dodgers starter Eric Lauer finally brought some calm, bouncing back from the three-run second from the Athletics (40-45) by stranding the bases loaded in the third, then retiring 10 of his final 12 en route to a strong six-inning start.
And after that, the Dodgers bullpen got through the final three innings –– including Kyle Hurt striking out the heart of the A’s lineup in order in the seventh –– with any more theatrics in a ballpark built for them.
In a perfect world, Roberts would secure his 1,000th career win at Chavez Ravine in front of a home crowd.
But after Monday’s win, he is now on the verge of doing it here in Sacramento this week.
At 999 career victories, Roberts is not only on the doorstep of joining the 1,000-win club, but also becoming the fastest manager in MLB history to get there.
With one more win, he will become the fourth Dodgers manager to ever reach the milestone, joining Tommy Lasorda, Walter Alston and Wilbert Robinson.
There were plenty of big performances Monday from the Dodgers’ lineup, which saw eight of nine starters record at least two hits.
No one’s contributions were as refreshing, however, as Teoscar Hernández, who went 2-for-5 (albeit with three strikeouts) in his return from a month-long absence with a hamstring strain.
Hernández tested out his hamstring immediately by legging out an infield single in the second. He then came back up in the third and singled again, this time on a 103 mph line drive to right.
Before the game, Hernández joked that “I don’t think they really need me in the lineup,” given how well the club had played without him. Still, keeping Hernández healthy and productive the rest of the way will be important, especially after he struggled following a groin strain last year.
“I never really got hurt before last year, so you learn from that,” Hernández said. “Last year, I tried to come back a little quicker. I think it messed up my timing, my hitting … This time, I talked to the team. I said, ‘I want to take some extra at-bats, so I can feel better, so I can feel like my timing is in place to come back and keep helping the team.'”
The good news is that the injured Dodgers starter has resumed a throwing program, after repeated setbacks in a battle with back spasms that has sidelined him for almost two months now.
However, Roberts said the team is still “being very cautious right now” with his progression, trying to avoid any further setbacks in an injury that has already dragged on far longer than expected.
Roberts will go for career win No. 1,000 on Tuesday, when Justin Wrobleski (9-2, 2.71 ERA) will take the mound for the Dodgers against Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-7, 5.52 ERA).