PITTSBURGH — It was 6-1 after six. Ryan Ward had just hit the first grand slam of his career. Shohei Ohtani was dealing. And then the Dodgers handed three runs back in the seventh, three more in the eighth became six, and suddenly none of the good stuff from the first six innings mattered anymore. Pittsburgh walked off with a 9-8 win that felt impossible at the start of the seventh inning and inevitable by the end of the eighth.
Ohtani Looks Untouchable for Six
Jared Jones started for Pittsburgh and kept the Dodgers quiet through the first three frames, but Los Angeles broke through in the fourth with a two-out rally. Freddie Freeman doubled to left for his 17th of the year, and with two outs and Freeman at third, Max Muncy lined a double to right to bring him in. Kyle Tucker followed with a ground single to center to make it 2-0. The Pirates answered in the bottom half when Tyler Callihan went deep to right for his first homer of the year, pulling Pittsburgh within one at 2-1.
Meanwhile Ohtani was doing Ohtani things. He worked through Pittsburgh’s lineup with ease, navigating the occasional baserunner but never letting anything turn into real damage. He struck out six over 6.2 innings, allowed four runs on six hits, and left the game with a line that pushed his ERA to a staggering 1.06 on the season. Jones was pulled after four in favor of Carmen Mlodzinski, who handled the fifth cleanly.
Ward’s First Career Grand Slam Blows It Open
The sixth inning is where it looked like the Dodgers had put this game away. Andy Pages singled to center, Freeman drew a walk, and Mookie Betts flew out before Muncy worked a walk to load the bases. Tucker struck out for the second out, and that brought Ryan Ward to the plate with the bases full. He turned on a pitch and drove it to right field for a grand slam, the first grand slam of his career. Pages, Freeman, and Muncy all scored. Just like that it was 6-1, and the Dodgers were feeling comfortable.
The bottom of the sixth was a quick three-up, three-down, aided by a successful Pirates challenge that overturned a play at first and led to a Muncy-to-Freeland force out, followed by a clean double play. Dodgers still up five going to the seventh.
The Seventh Unravels, the Eighth Collapses
The Dodgers went quietly in the top of the seventh, and then Pittsburgh made them pay for it. Callihan walked to open the inning. Jake Mangum singled softly back to Ohtani, who fielded it and threw to Betts covering second, but Callihan moved to third.
Two strikeouts followed and the inning looked under control. Then Brandon Lowe lined a double to right that scored both Callihan and Mangum, cutting the lead to 6-3. Max Muncy made a throwing error on a Bryan Reynolds ground ball that let Lowe score, and suddenly it was a 6-4 game. Alex Vesia came in to get O’Hearn and end the inning, but the damage was done.
The eighth inning is where the roof caved in. Kyle Hurt entered with a two-run lead and walked Gonzales, then walked Flores Jr. to put two on with nobody out. Callihan stepped in and hit his second homer of the game to right, a three-run shot that flipped the lead entirely: Pittsburgh 7, Los Angeles 6. Mangum singled and advanced on a Hurt wild pitch before getting caught stealing. Triolo doubled, and after Jack Dreyer replaced Hurt, Horwitz put it out of reach with a two-run homer to right center. Final tally from the eighth: five runs on three hits, two walks.
Ohtani Answers in the Ninth, Not Enough
The Dodgers mounted one last push in the ninth against Gregory Soto. Dalton Rushing grounded out to start, then Miguel Rojas pinch hit for Alex Freeland and singled to right. Ohtani, now in the lineup as the DH after his pitching exit, stepped in and launched his 12th home run of the year to center field to make it 8-9. The comeback was real for a moment. But Pages flew out and Freeman lined out to end it, and Pittsburgh closed the door. Hurt took the loss for the Dodgers, falling to 1-1 on the year.
Ohtani finished the game as both starting pitcher and cleanup hitter. He struck out six, held Pittsburgh in check for most of the night, and still found time to hit a two-run shot in the final inning when the team needed it most. It was not enough, but it was a reminder that there is no player on the planet like him.
Up Next
The series finale is Thursday at PNC Park with first pitch at 3:40 p.m. PT. Justin Wrobleski gets the ball for Los Angeles against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. The Dodgers will need a win to avoid dropping the series before heading to Chicago for a three-game set against the White Sox.
