ANAHEIM — The Dodgers came to Angel Stadium on Saturday night and didn’t just win. They humiliated.
Los Angeles sent Justin Wrobleski to the mound and watched the offense turn a patient, scoreless start into a six-run sixth, a two-run eighth, and a three-run Shohei Ohtani double that turned a comfortable win into a statement. The final score was 15-2, and it wasn’t that close.
One Run Was All It Took Early
The Dodgers got on the board in the first without needing a hit. Ohtani worked a leadoff walk, Mookie Betts singled on a line drive to left to put two on, and Will Smith put the ball in the air to right field for a sacrifice fly that scored Ohtani. It was a quiet 1-0 lead, but in a game where Wrobleski was dealing, one run felt like more.
The Angels answered with nothing. Vaughn Grissom singled with one out in the bottom of the first, but Mike Trout struck out looking and Jorge Soler followed him down swinging. The threat was over before it started.
Through the first five innings, José Soriano matched Wrobleski pitch for pitch. The Dodgers went three-up, three-down in the second, third, fourth, and fifth. Ohtani walked again in the third and immediately stole second, his sixth bag of the season, but Betts lined out to right with Ohtani standing at third to end the inning. The scoreboard stayed quiet. The tension did not.
The Sixth Inning Broke the Angels
If the first five innings belonged to the pitchers, the sixth belonged to the Dodgers’ lineup in the most complete way possible.
Ohtani opened by grounding out, but everything after that turned into a masterclass in patience. Betts drew a walk. Freeman walked. Smith took a pitch off his body to load the bases. Andy Pages worked another walk to force in Betts, making it 2-0. Max Muncy kept the line moving with a fourth consecutive walk to score Freeman. Soriano was done. Chase Silseth came on and immediately hit Teoscar Hernandez with a pitch to bring home Smith, extending the lead to 4-0. That brought up Alex Call with the bases still loaded.
Call lined a single to left and both Pages and Muncy scored. Six runs on two hits, four walks, and two hit batsmen. The Angels had nothing left to stop it.
Anaheim did respond in the bottom half. Zach Neto and Soler set the table with back-to-back hits, and Jo Adell drove them both in with a sharp double to center to make it 6-2. It was the most life the Angels showed all night, but the window closed quickly. Oswald Peraza struck out, Nolan Schanuel flew out, and Logan O’Hoppe sent one to right to end the inning.
Wrobleski’s Night Ends, Treinen Takes Over
Wrobleski came back out for the seventh and finished his start with a strong frame. Blake Treinen relieved him in the bottom half and retired the Angels in order, working around a Mike Trout walk in the seventh by getting Neto to ground into a force out to end the threat. Through seven innings, the Dodgers had a four-run lead and full control of the game. What happened in the eighth turned it into a rout.
Betts Makes It Official
Alek Manoah came on for Anaheim in the eighth and promptly let things get out of hand. Muncy singled and Call walked to put two on with one out. Ohtani then sent a line drive to right field that stayed fair after an umpire review, and two more runs came home to push the lead to 9-2. Betts stepped in and sent a fly ball to left field for his fourth home run of the year, a two-run blast that stretched the margin to 10-2 and effectively ended any remaining drama.
Wyatt Mills held Anaheim scoreless in the bottom half, getting through the inning with two walks and a pair of flyouts before O’Hoppe lined out sharply to close the frame.
Ohtani Puts the Exclamation Point on It
The ninth inning had no reason to be that good. The game was already decided.
Smith walked to open things up and Pages singled to put two on. Muncy reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Smith when Manoah threw wildly on the play. Hernandez singled to score Pages and push the lead to 12-2. Kim walked to load the bases, and Ohtani came up with the game already in hand.
He lined a double to right anyway. All three runners scored. Just like that it was 15-2, and Ohtani had himself three RBI on one swing with the game long decided.
Santiago Espinal came on as a pinch-hitter for Betts and singled to keep the inning alive before Dalton Rushing grounded into a double play to end it. Charlie Barnes retired the Angels in order in the bottom of the ninth to close out the win.
Up Next
Los Angeles takes a 2-0 series lead into Sunday afternoon with the rubber game at Angel Stadium. Roki Sasaki is slated to take the ball for the Dodgers. First pitch is set for 1:07 PM PST. After Anaheim, the road trip continues with stops in San Diego and Milwaukee before the team returns home.
