Max Muncy hit his third home run of the game in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to secure a walk-off victory for the Dodgers (10-3) over the Rangers (7-6) immediately following the first blown save by Dodgers new closer Edwin Diaz.
Muncy homered thrice. The hero of the night collected a total of four hits, drove in three runs, and scored five runs. Andy Pages had another huge night at the plate as well. He drove in four runs on three hits to contribute to the Dodgers 8-7 win over the Rangers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
Old friends Corey Seager and Joc Pederson helped make it a back-and-forth contest. Seager drove in three runs, and Pederson had a key at-bat.
Muncy got the Dodgers on the board in the second inning with a solo shot to right center for the first of three acts.
The Dodgers went from one run up to two runs down after one swing on a Glasnow fastball from old friend Corey Seager in the third. After Josh Smith and Brandon Nimmo singled, Seager slugged a three-run home run on a two-out 3-2 count.
Muncy went deep for the second time against Rocker in as many plate appearances with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. The solo home run made it a one-run game.
The longest-tenured player on the Dodgers, Muncy, is now alone in third place in LA Dodger history and sixth in franchise history with 212 home runs.
The Rangers got back the run in the next frame thanks to a Wyatt Langford solo home run off a hanging Glasnow curveball.
Hyeseong Kim’s sac fly made it a one-run game once again. Ohtani singled to right field, and the Dodgers had Rocker on the ropes with runners at the corners and two outs. A four-pitch walk to Kyle Tucker loaded the bases for Will Smith. Smith’s bases-loaded double play ended the threat there to keep it 4-3.
In the sixth, the comeback vibes returned. Pages once again came up clutch with a two-RBI double against Texas reliever Robert Garcia to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.
Alex Vesia took over for Glasnow in the seventh and continued to pitch dominantly with three strikeouts in a scoreless inning. Glasnow nor Rocker were involved in the decision. Other than the two mistake pitches to Seager and Langford, Glasnow pitched well and struck out seven over six innings of work.
The Dodgers squandered another scoring opportunity when they cornered the Rangers again in the seventh. Freddie Freeman grounded into the third double play of the evening to end the threat.
Tanner Scott blew away Seager with a strikeout and pitched another scoreless inning out of the bullpen, another promising outing from the reliever.
Pages is playing on a whole different level and crushed his fourth homer of the season in the eighth, a two-run missile against right-hander Luis Curvelo for some insurance.
Sound the trumpets. Edwin Diaz emerged from the Dodgers bullpen to secure the series opener win, but things got sketchy quickly in the top of the ninth. Pederson struck out, but got it overturned on an ABS challenge. Joc subsequently singled. Evan Carter drove in Pederson on a two-run home run against Diaz to make it a one-run game once again.
Diaz intentionally walked Nimmo, but Ezequiel Duran singled home Sam Haggarty to tie the game at seven runs apiece in the top of the ninth. The save was blown, but the Dodgers still had an opportunity to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth.
Muncy saved us from extra-innings with a sweet bat drop after he hit his third home run of the night for a walk-off win.
Friday particulars
Home runs: Max Muncy 3 (4), Corey Seager (4), Wyatt Langford (1), Andy Pages (4), Evan Carter (1)
WP — Edwin Diaz (1-0): 1 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts (23 pitches)
LP — Jacob Latz (0-1): 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, no walks, 2 strikeouts (16 pitches)
Note: Will Smith now has 11 successful ABS challenges to lead major-league catchers
Up next
Emmet Sheehan (1-0, 8.00 ERA, 1.89 WHIP) makes his third start of the season for the Dodgers Saturday night (6:10 p.m.; SportsNet LA). Jack Leiter (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) takes the mound for the Rangers.
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