Steve Webb
ARLINGTON, TX — In an action-packed All-Star Game, the contributions from key Los Angeles Dodgers players, Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith, were pivotal, but not quite enough as the National League fell to their rivals from the Junior Circuit by a score of 5-3.
Shohei Ohtani was far and away the star of the NL squad. He delivered a standout performance, starting with a walk in the first inning, setting the stage for Bryce Harper’s double that pushed Ohtani to third. Though he didn’t score then, he made up for it with a towering three-run homer in the third inning, driving in Jurickson Profar and Ketel Marte. He pulled a 2-0 splitter from the Red Sox Tanner Houk deep to right field for a no-doubter. 400 feet later, the ball landed among the paying customers at Globe Life Field, putting the National League ahead 3-0. It would be the only scoring that the NL would do all night.
So how did the other Dodgers fare? Well, a mixed bag. Mookie Betts and Tyler Glasnow were both out because of injury, but all four other Dodgers on the team saw action. Teoscar Hernández, while not shining at the plate with a flyout and strikeout, made a couple of defensive plays in the losing effort. In the second inning, he caught a flyout from José Ramírez, and in the fifth, he made back-to-back catches, including a sharp flyout by Corey Seager. Though his All-Star experience was already top-notch thanks to his first-ever Dodgers victory in the Home Run Derby on Monday night.
Will Smith replaced William Contreras at catcher in the fifth inning and quickly made an impact. He singled in the sixth inning, but unfortunately, a double play followed, nullifying the scoring opportunity. In the eighth inning, he grounded out, but his presence was felt behind the plate as he managed the pitching staff effectively.
Freddie Freeman, pinch-hitting for Christian Yelich in the sixth inning, grounded into that double play, but his defensive contributions were solid once he remained in the game. He replaced Bryce Harper at first base and made several key plays, including assisting in groundouts in the sixth inning and a groundout by Josh Naylor in the seventh.
Despite these efforts, the game took a turn in the bottom of the fifth when Jarren Duran hit a two-run homer, putting the American League ahead 5-3, a lead they maintained to win the game. The Dodgers’ stars showed their prowess, but it wasn’t enough to secure a victory.
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