by Cary Osborne
The top of the Dodger lineup was a significant reason for the Dodgers’ 7–4 victory against the Marlins in the series opener in Miami on Monday.
Shohei Ohtani homered and stole a base. Mookie Betts added two hits. Freddie Freeman hit the 350th home run of his career. And Teoscar Hernández was 2-for-2 before he left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning.
But the person who occupied the very bottom of the lineup contributed with a pair of hits, an RBI and a run. He also gave the top of the lineup greater production opportunities.
Hyeseong Kim, earning his first Major League start, also added a stolen base, giving him stolen bases in consecutive games. He singled off Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara in the fifth inning for his first Major League hit.
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“An amazing performance by Kim — really good, just overall,” Ohtani said.
Kim, who made his Major League debut on Saturday, was part of a 7–8–9 (Michael Conforto, Andy Pages and Kim) in the Dodger lineup that went 5-for-12. Pages went 2-for-4 with a triple in the game.
The 7–8–9 gave Ohtani three opportunities in the game with runners on base.
The designated hitter’s homer in the fifth inning — a 11.7.9-mph exit-velocity rocket — left the yard with Kim on base. The Dodgers were up 5–0 at that point.
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The Dodgers came into the game with the fourth-lowest batting average (.208) in the Majors for their 7–8–9 hitters. Their .614 OPS ranked 23rd.
Kim’s RBI single in the top of the sixth inning gave the Dodgers a 6–0 lead at the time.
Freeman’s Milestone
Freeman’s seventh homer of the year — a two-run shot in the third inning — extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
It was also the 350th homer of his career.
Freeman is one of 28 players all time with at least 350 home runs and 500 doubles.
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Hernández’s Hamstring
Hernández doubled in the first inning to drive in his Major League-leading 34th run of the season.
But Hernández later tweaked his left hamstring chasing down a fly ball in the third inning.
Manager Dave Roberts said the Dodger right fielder will get an MRI on the hamstring on Tuesday and there is a level of concern.
“I got word that it was tight,” Roberts said. “There’s a hamstring and adductor, and he’s a guy that just doesn’t come out of games by way of injury. So that’s a little concerning, given the person.”
Casparius Strong Again
Ben Casparius was the bulk guy in the bullpen game and allowed one run over four innings. He was credited with the victory and is now 4–0.
Casparius hadn’t pitched since April 27, when he took over in the second inning for an injured Tyler Glasnow and earned his third victory of the season.
Casparius has a 1.20 ERA (two earned runs in 15 innings) over his last five outings and has earned wins in four of the appearances.
The Dodger lineup gets top-to-bottom impact was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.