Shohei Ohtani smashed a 473-foot home run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit six homers total in a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes, and Jason Heyward also hit home runs as Los Angeles completed a sweep of the three-game series.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Before the break, we weren’t playing well. But to come out fresh against such a good team and play like we did—our offense really came alive.”
This was the 25th time the Dodgers hit at least six homers in a game and the first time since 2022 against Kansas City. Five of those homers were off Boston’s starting pitcher Kutter Crawford (6-8).
Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, commented, “I think winning and coming back from behind in a lot of these games creates great momentum for the team. We hope to keep that going.”
Jarren Duran, MVP of last Tuesday’s All-Star Game, hit a home run and drove in four runs for the Red Sox (53-45), who are now one game behind the Royals (55-45) for the final AL wild-card spot.
Boston manager Alex Cora noted, “They hit the ball in the air a lot, obviously. They capitalized on pitches in the strike zone and hit several homers.”
James Paxton (8-2) gave up three runs on four hits and struck out seven in five innings for the Dodgers. Boston made a ninth-inning rally with three runs, but Daniel Hudson secured his sixth save.
Barnes’ solo homer put the Dodgers ahead 5-2 in the fifth inning, and Ohtani’s 473-foot blast off Crawford made him the first NL player with 30 homers this season. Aaron Judge leads the majors with 35.
Fans reported that Ohtani’s home run cleared the concourse and landed on the walkway in the ballpark plaza, sailing between the pavilion roof and an advertisement sign in right-center field.
“I was trying to watch where it went, but I couldn’t really see it,” Ohtani said. “Everyone seemed pretty impressed.” Ohtani has now hit at least 30 home runs in four consecutive seasons.
Crawford gave up six runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. He became the first Boston starter since Nathan Eovaldi in 2022 to allow five home runs in a game.
“They have a strong lineup. It’s pretty deep. They make you throw good pitches and execute. And when you don’t execute, they take advantage,” Crawford said. “I left a few pitches over the middle of the plate and they capitalized.”
Boston went ahead 2-0 just three pitches into the game. Romy Gonzalez started with a double on the first pitch, and then Duran hit Paxton’s fastball into the bleachers in left-center.
Duran had a strong series, going 6 for 12 with two home runs and seven RBIs. The Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the first on Freeman’s solo home run to right-center and Lux’s RBI double.
Hernández, who won last Monday’s Home Run Derby, gave Los Angeles the lead with a home run that just cleared the short wall near the right-field corner.
Lux added a solo homer in the fourth inning, and Heyward, who returned from the injured list before the game, hit a two-run homer off former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth.
“I thought we swung the bat pretty well in Detroit, and that momentum carried over here,” Barnes said. “Obviously, we pitched well the first two days, and those were good wins. Putting together some strong offensive performances feels good. It definitely makes pitching easier.”
