Out-homering the opposition paved the way for the Dodgers to narrowly beat the Twins 2-1 in a game in which stringing hits together proved to be quite the challenge for either side. While no one can quite match Shohei Ohtani when it comes to mesmerizing displays of power with the bat, among those who come close to it, Byron Buxton is one of the names to be mentioned. For the first half of this game, all of the scoring came courtesy of Ohtani and Buxton, each hitting solo shots in the first inning,
Buxton’s tying him with Yordan Alvarez at 25 for the American League lead.
Buxton’s home run came against Will Klein, who opened the game as the Dodgers surely wanted to limit Eric Lauer’s exposure to the American League leader in long balls. Unfortunately, Klein not only gave up the long ball but also struggled enough in the first inning that Dave Roberts almost had to turn to Lauer to get out of a jam. Eventually, Klein retired Victor Caratini with two on to end the threat, even if it cost him over 30 pitches to wrap up that first inning.
While the opening frame didn’t turn out as expected, the Dodgers can’t be too upset about their decision to have Lauer as the follower, given the quality of his performance. The veteran left-hander, who now has the Dodgers 5-0 in his starts, kept the Twins at bay with six scoreless innings in which the only time that Minnesota had someone on base was via a walk (three of them total). Forget getting a hit; the Twins had a hard time even launching the ball in the air against Lauer, piling on groundout after groundout to go hitless after a scary first inning.
As great as he was, for the better part of Lauer’s performance, those zeroes on the board were strictly keeping the Dodgers in the game, but the reigning back-to-back champs had yet to fully take advantage of them—their offense also struggled to stack together a rally against Zebby Matthews. And you know what they say: if you can’t string a rally together, hit one over the wall. The decisive hit of this game came in the sixth inning, when Freddie Freeman hit the longest of the game’s three home runs to hand the Dodgers a 2-1 lead, with the ball traveling 423 ft.
Right on cue, as soon as Lauer left the game, the threat loomed a bit larger as the Dodgers defended this one-run lead. Kyle Hurt allowed the leadoff hitter to get on in front of Buxton in the eighth, but then struck out the Twins’ most dangerous hitter. Miguel Rojas made a bold choice to go for the out at second as the following hitter grounded to second, and lastly, Josh Bell got just enough air under a sinking liner for it to be caught in right field. Tanner Scott’s save came without a hassle, retiring the Twins in order.
In the process of securing this win, though, the Dodgers had to not once but twice turn to their bench early on. Firstly, after reaching via a walk in the second, Kyle Tucker felt something running the bases and left the game early with low back spasms. Tucker was replaced by Alex Call, who went 2 for 3 despite being stranded both times and not driving in a run. Another position player to take an early exit was catcher Dalton Rushing, entering the concussion protocol after being hit by a Twins foul ball, with Chuckie Robinson finishing things off behind the dish.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (17), Freddie Freeman (13), Byron Buxton (25)
- WP— Eric Lauer (3-5): 6 IP, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts
- LP— Zebby Matthews (3-5): 6 IP, 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
- SV – Taner Scott (10): 1 IP
Up next
As great as Justin Wrobleski has been this season, Tuesday’s pitching matchup will favor the Twins with the left-hander facing their ace in Joe Ryan. It’s the same start time at 4:40 p.m. PT.
