Mike Salas
Game 129, 8/23/2024: Dodgers 7, Rays 3
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Are you kidding me? We knew that Shohei Ohtani had a flair for the dramatic, but to enter the elite 40/40 club with a walk-off grand slam? That’s just ridiculous. To quote the legendary Jack Buck, “I don’t believe what I just saw!” The majestic moment came with two out in the bottom of the ninth (natch), and led to an incredible, come-from-behind 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. It. Was. Legendary.
But before we get to that homer, there was a whole lot of baseball played in the previous 8.2 innings. Let’s go back to the beginning, and then work our way forward to the moment history was made.
Dodgers’ right-hander Bobby Miller took the mound in this one, aiming to replicate his impressive performance from March 29th, when he pitched six scoreless innings with eleven strikeouts. The Dodgers’ offense faced Rays left-hander Tyler Alexander, who had recently struggled against the Diamondbacks, giving up five hits, three earned runs, and a home run in five innings.
In the first inning, Miller quickly got two outs with a strikeout and a fly-out. However, Rays’ Junior Caminero then hit a 100 mph fastball from Miller over the centerfield wall, putting Tampa ahead 1-0. Miller calmed down a bit after that, but still surrendered one more longball, a two-run job off the bat of Christopher Morel, which gave the Rays a 3-0 lead in the third.
Shohei Ohtani reached base with an infield single in the fourth and soon stole his 40th base of the season, achieving this milestone in just 129 games. However, nothing came of the swiped bag in that inning, as a couple of flyouts ended the threat with nothing across. Still, the (literal) fireworks were a few more innings away.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Tommy Edman hit a single to left field, and Gavin Lux walked after Miguel Rojas struck out. With two strikes, Kiké Hernández hit a three-run homer over the left-center wall, tying the game at 3-3. On a 1-2 pitch from Alexander, Kiké blasted a middle-in sinker to knot the game and show why his clutch bat will make him a valuable asset as the weather turns colder.
After six innings, Bobby Miller’s night concluded with mixed results. Despite a rocky start where Tampa exploited his fastball, Miller managed to land his secondary pitches with more consistency as the game went on and finished with a line of 96 pitches, 68 strikes, 6 innings pitched, 7 hits, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts, and 2 home runs allowed, ending with a 7.49 ERA. This outing was Miller’s best since returning from the IL, showing improved command and consistency with his breaking pitches, though his fastball still lacked movement.
The 3-3 tie held through the late innings, with Tampa’s pen matching the Dodgers’ relievers in putting zeros on the scoreboard. Until the bottom of the ninth…
In the ninth inning, after Michael Kopech pitched a scoreless top half, Will Smith was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the frame. Tommy Edman then singled, and Miguel Rojas laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Smith and Edman to scoring position. After Gavin Lux nearly won the game with a hot shot to second base, manager Dave Roberts sent Max Muncy to the plate to pinch hit. Muncy was eager to provide the heroics, but reliever Colin Poche didn’t give him anything to hit, walking the slugger on five pitchers. That brought up, in the most dramatic of situations, none other than Shohei Ohtani. With the bases juiced, no less. And what happened next will be one for the history books…
Ohtani didn’t make the Dodger faithful wait for what they were all hoping for. He launched the first pitch he saw from Poche over the centerfield wall for a walk-off grand slam, clearing the bases and winning the game. And, with that swing, Ohtani becomes the fastest player to join the 40-40 club and the first in Dodgers history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in just 126 games played. Another feather in the cap of the frontrunner for NL MVP. It was amazing. Electric. And it sealed the Dodgers’ fifth straight win.
Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw and Rays’ Taj Bradley will start Saturday’s game. You can watch the second game of this three-game series on SportsNet LA, with the pre-game show at 5:00 pm and the first pitch at 6:10 pm PST.
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