Dodgers get last laugh and walk off Twins

Resiliency shows up as the driving force in walk-off win for Los Angeles

In a matchup in which both starting pitchers proved too strong to handle, the two bullpens played a game of chicken, and the Dodgers, who came within one strike of a rather deflating loss, instead beat the Twins in walk-off fashion. Freddie Freeman was the hero with a two-run single in the ninth to seal this 4-3 win.

Before each bullpen was begging to lose Wednesday’s game, we saw a pitcher’s duel of the highest quality between Tyler Glasnow and Chris Paddack. Evidently, Glasnow thoroughly enjoys pitching (bullying) the Twins. Although he didn’t quite get to the 14 strikeouts he had against Minnesota last year, the right-hander was dominant, striking out a dozen over seven innings. Even the sole run he allowed can hardly be called a mistake pitch; it’s just that sometimes you have to tip your cap to the hitter. Royce Lewis, who had already received a few fastballs up above the zone, got one that wasn’t quite up enough as the others and crushed it out down the left-field line.

When healthy and rolling, Glasnow not only has a case as the dominant starter in the Dodgers’ rotation, but one of the top arms in the National League, and this game was another example of it. Relying on the slider a little more than usual (28-percent usage), Glasnow bullied everyone but Lewis, who managed to get the two extra-base hits he allowed across seven full frames.

This dominant performance from Glasnow couldn’t have come at a better time, not only because of the bullpen status, after laboring in the first two games versus Minnesota, but also the performance on the other side of this pitching matchup. Glasnow left the game with the score tied at 1-1 because, much like himself, Chris Paddack also dominated en route to his best performance in well over a month.

Shohei Ohtani made it five straight games with a homer, tying the Dodgers franchise record, by taking a hanging curve from Paddack in the first and hitting it 441 feet to left-center.

What looked like the beginning of yet another slugfest against a starter who had allowed 11 runs in his last two starts proved to be the only damage done against Paddack. The Twins starter even managed to strike out Ohtani the next two times they saw each other.

With the score tied at 1-1 after both starters left, Los Angeles loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but only managed one run out of it on a Tommy Edman single. Minnesota had a similar opportunity and scored a pair. Kirby Yates couldn’t find the zone and walked all three hitters he faced in the top of the eighth, which left Alex Vesia to come into a bases-loaded, no-outs situation. Vesia was marvelous, but bad luck and a difficult situation did him in. The Dodgers’ left-hander induced a double play that tied the score, and then a dribbler from Harrison Bader found the right spot for an infield hit to give Minnesota the lead.

After blowing a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the eighth, the Dodgers had one mission in the final frame: bring Ohtani , the fourth hitter due up, to the plate. Mookie Betts achieved that with an infield single, but then the Twins pulled one straight out of the prime Barry Bonds era. With a runner at first, two outs, and up by one in the ninth, Minnesota intentionally walked Ohtani, bringing Esteury Ruiz up to the plate. Ruiz pinch-ran for Teoscar Hernández earlier in the game, which is why he was in the third hole. Maybe the intentional walk threw Griffin Jax off his game, perhaps it was just a coincidence, but whatever the case, Jax lost it there for a second and walked Ruiz to load the bases for Freeman, who came up clutch with a sinking liner to left just out of reach of Harrison Bader.

Combined, the two starters allowed eight baserunners in 13 innings of work. In a fraction of that, the two bullpens let 15 men reach base. Thankfully for the Dodgers, they got the last laugh.

Game particulars

• Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (37), Royce Lewis (5)
• WP — Anthony Banda (5-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 3 strikeouts
• LP — Griffin Jax (1-5): ⅔ IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks

Up next

The Dodgers will travel across the country to meet up with the struggling Red Sox, who are currently in the middle of a gauntlet of National League opponents, facing the Cubs, Phillies, and Dodgers in that order. Emmet Sheehan starts the opener on Friday night (4:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), with Brayan Bello on the mound for Boston.