LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup a day after saying he likely won’t pitch again this season and will focus solely on hitting going forward, but Tarik Skubal made sure Los Angeles didn’t miss a beat. Skubal worked into the eighth and racked up eight strikeouts, and Teoscar Hernández atoned for a costly baserunning mistake with the go ahead hit, as the Dodgers held off the Reds 3-2 to take game two of the series at Dodger Stadium.
Will Smith Strikes First
Skubal cruised through a scoreless first, striking out Dane Myers and getting Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart to ground out. Will Smith gave him a lead to work with in the bottom half, turning on a pitch for a solo homer to left that put LA up 1-0 before Cincinnati had a chance to answer.
Dodgers Push the Lead to Two
Los Angeles kept pressing in the second. Teoscar Hernández worked a walk to start a rally, and after Miguel Rojas and Alex Call made outs, Max Muncy singled and Enrique Hernández walked to load the bases. Tommy Edman got hit by a pitch to force in a run, and while Mookie Betts grounded out to end the inning, the Dodgers had built a 2-0 cushion.
De La Cruz Answers, Teoscar Gives One Back
Elly De La Cruz erased that cushion in the third. Dane Myers singled ahead of him, and De La Cruz turned around and crushed a homer deep into the left field pavilions, tying the game at 2-2.
The Dodgers had a chance to answer right back when Teoscar Hernández ripped a triple off the wall in center in the bottom of the inning, but he was waved home by third base coach Dino Ebel trying to stretch it into an inside the park homer. De La Cruz relayed the throw in from center in time, and Hernández was out by a mile at the plate to end the threat.
Teoscar Makes Up For It
Hernández got his redemption two innings later. Mookie Betts drew a walk and Will Smith was hit by a pitch to put two aboard, and after Freddie Freeman struck out on a call that survived a Reds challenge, Hernández lined a single to center that brought home Betts and put the Dodgers back in front 3-2. A force out at second ended the inning, but the lead would hold up the rest of the way.
Skubal and the Bullpen Close It Out
Skubal retired Héctor Rodríguez to open the eighth before handing off to Edgardo Henriquez, who gave up a double to De La Cruz but got Sal Stewart looking to strand him at second. Tanner Scott came on for the ninth and struck out two around a walk, needing a Carlos Jorge stolen base to even threaten before Jose Trevino grounded out to end it.
The 3-2 win pushed the Dodgers to within a game and a half of Milwaukee for the top seed in the National League, with Skubal improving to 9-7 on the year.
Up Next
The series wraps up Wednesday with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound against Rhett Lowder. First pitch from Dodger Stadium is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PST.
