Batting practice on Saturday extended into the game for the Dodgers.
A two-run home run by Shohei Ohtani punctuated a nine-run first inning for the two-time defending champions, who went on to claim a 9-2 victory over the Angels at Uniqlo Field.
This wasn’t a baseball game.
This was a pride of lions mauling a defenseless warthog.
The prey in this scenario was Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz, who was removed from the game after retiring only one of the eight batters he faced.
Kochanowicz’s replacement ended the on-field massacre but not before serving up a down-the-middle sinker that Ohtani blasted over the wall in left-center field for his 11th home run of the season.
The inning was the Dodgers’ most productive in almost five years. The last time the Dodgers scored nine runs in an inning was in the seventh inning of a 10-5 win over the Nationals on July 2, 2021.
So much for the one-run advantage the Angels gained on a run-scoring triple by Oswald Peraza in the top of the inning.
Ohtani led off the Dodgers’ assault with an infield hit, which was followed by a home run by Andy Pages. Consecutive singles by Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy loaded the bases, with Freeman and Betts scoring on a double by 28-year-old rookie Ryan Ward.
Kochanowicz struck out Alex Call but walked Dalton Rushing in the very next at-bat to reload the bases, prompting manager Kurt Suzuki to remove him.
In came Suter, who got Alex Freeland to hit a grounder to short, only to see Zach Neto chuck the ball into right field. Three runs scored.
Two more scored on Ohtani’s homer.
The game was over.
What it means
The Dodgers might as well place an order for the champagne they will open when they win the National League West. They maintained an eight-game lead over the Padres, who beat the Mets, 3-2. And they’re now 8 ½ games ahead of the Diamondbacks, who lost to the Nationals, 6-1.
Who’s hot
If not for another first-inning misstep, Yoshinobu Yamamoto would have triggered a no-hitter alert.
Wade Meckler reached base on a two-out bunt single in the first inning and scored on Peraza’s triple, but Yamamoto didn’t give up any runs or hits over the next seven frames.
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Yamamoto completed eight innings to extend his personal winning streak to three starts. The Japanese right-hander has posted a 0.66 earned-run average over his last four starts.
Who’s not
The league-worst record of the Angels doesn’t reflect how bad they are. They looked helpless at the plate on Friday against Roki Sasaki and looked even more so on Saturday against Yamamoto. They can’t play defense, with an errant throw by Donovan Walton in the second inning counting as their second error of the game.
Up next
The Dodgers’ three-game series against the Angels will conclude on Sunday with Emmet Sheehan (3-2, 4.50 ERA) taking on Angels right-hander Jose Soriano (6-4, 2.72).
