Shohei Ohtani had his second walk-off hit in Major League Baseball on Sunday. It was a single in the 10th inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2.
Andy Pages hit a two-run homer early in the game for the Dodgers, who have won 20 out of 26 games after winning three of four against Cincinnati.
Pinch-hitter Will Smith walked with one out in the 10th inning from Alexis Díaz (1-3). Then, Mookie Betts flew out, setting the stage for Ohtani’s hit. His single to right field scored Jason Heyward. Ohtani’s achievement sparked a loud celebration at Dodger Stadium, and his teammates showered him with water.
“I was looking to just put the ball in play, so I’m glad it worked out well,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “We lost the first game of the series, so we really wanted to finish strong.”
Ohtani’s only other walk-off hit in MLB was a single in the 11th inning for the Los Angeles Angels in a 6-5 win over Houston on Sept. 4, 2020.
“He’s had a lot of big hits for us,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But the first walk-off, certainly at home, was exciting.”
Stuart Fairchild got two hits for the Reds, who have lost 15 out of 18 games. Cincinnati also lost seven consecutive series.
Anthony Banda (1-0) made his debut with the Dodgers and got three straight outs in the 10th inning. The Dodgers acquired him from Cleveland on Friday.
Banda’s last win was on May 28, 2022, with Pittsburgh. Since then, he has played for the Blue Jays, Yankees, Nationals, and Dodgers, and was in the Guardians’ minor league system.
Cincinnati reliever Emilio Pagan left the game suddenly with two outs in the ninth inning and a 2-1 count on Heyward. Pagan got two outs before throwing three straight fastballs to Heyward and then went to the dugout.
Diaz struck out Heyward, sending the game into extra innings.
Hunter Greene pitched for Cincinnati and struck out eight while allowing four hits until the seventh inning. It was his second career start in his hometown.
The right-hander got coaching at Compton’s Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy and played high school baseball in Sherman Oaks before the Reds drafted him as the second overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft.
“Just one pitch got the best of me, but other than that, I felt like I was pretty focused,” Greene said. “Obviously, it’s not fun that we’re going through it, but we’re just going out there and trying to compete and do our best.”
Landon Knack allowed one run on three hits in the first 4 2/3 innings for the Dodgers in his fourth major league appearance.
Knack had three starts in April, and he got called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City for this start, likely so the Dodgers could give Yoshinobu Yamamoto a full week of rest.
“When you play for an organization that has as much talent as this one, you have to understand how your opportunities are going to be, and you just have to take them,” Knack said.
Freddie Freeman singled in the fourth inning before Pages hit a homer off Greene’s slider down the left-field line for the fifth homer of his rookie season.
Cincinnati had not scored in 16 consecutive innings at Chavez Ravine before scoring on consecutive doubles to left field in the fifth inning by Fairchild and Santiago Espinal. Espinal’s catchable drive fooled Teoscar Hernández.
Cincinnati tied the game in the seventh inning when pinch-hitter Spencer Steer, a Long Beach native in an 0-for-16 slump, drew a bases-loaded walk on nine pitches from Alex Vesia, who then escaped the jam.
