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Betts and Ohtani hit two straight home runs to earn walk-off victory | by Megan Garcia | September 2024

Dodger Insider
Mookie Betts hit his first walk-off home run of the season on Sunday. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

by Megan Garcia

When Mookie Betts came to bat, the crowd at Dodger Stadium hadn't finished cheering for Shohei Ohtani's tying home run. When he hit a sinker by rookie relief pitcher Seth Halvorsen, the crowd's roar grew even louder.

Betts was on his last at-bat when he admired his 19th long ball, which was hit into the right field pavilion. He pumped his fist as he rounded first base and threw away his helmet as he stepped onto third base. His teammates were waiting for him at home plate to celebrate their 39th comeback victory.

The Dodgers beat the Rockies 6-5 in the series finale on Sunday. They also prevented the San Diego Padres from moving closer to first place in the National League West. The Dodgers continue to lead the division by three games.

The Dodgers are aware of the Padres' movements in the division while playing their own games, and watching the scoreboards has become common practice in the final days of the regular season.

“It's really hard (not to look at the scoreboard),” Betts said. “You just have to worry about the task at hand. Sometimes I'll look every now and then to see what's going on, but it's really hard. Just try to worry about what you can control.”

The Dodgers have been trying to extend their lead in the division, but their losses and the Padres' wins have prevented that from happening. However, the Dodgers' walk-off victory puts them in control ahead of a crucial three-game series against the Padres on Tuesday.

“It would have been tough for us to lose that series,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But after this series win, I feel like we can continue to play aggressively and go out and win a series.”

The Dodgers left five runners on base in the first three innings before Teoscar Hernández put the Dodgers on the scoreboard with a 418-foot solo home run to center field in the fourth inning.

In the three-run seventh inning, the Dodgers were one run away. Kiké Hernández hit a two-run home run and Freddie Freeman followed with an RBI single.

Ohtani, who was 3-for-4 with two stolen bases in the ninth inning, opened the inning with home run No. 53 to tie the game at 5-5. Then Betts put the Dodgers on the winning list with his walk-off home run.

“Your stars have to play like stars,” Roberts said. “It's not easy for these guys to get through today given the responsibility they have. The emotions were real and it was nice to see that.”

Yamamoto's shortest start since returning to the IL

The first inning brought trouble for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He put leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon out of action with a flyout to right field, but then allowed three singles, two walks and three runs before the next out.

With a 35-pitch first inning, he was approaching half of his 80-pitch limit. Yamamoto needed 18 pitches to hold the Rockies scoreless in the second inning with two strikeouts and a groundout.

The third inning was his last, after five batters increased his pitch count to 79 pitches (47 strikes). He allowed four earned runs on five hits, with three walks and four strikeouts.

Where they stand

The Dodgers maintain their three-game lead in the NL West. Their magic number to win the National League West is four.

The Dodgers (93-63) begin a three-game series against the San Diego Padres (90-66) on Tuesday to complete the final home game of the regular season.

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