Freddie Freeman continued his red-hot stretch at the plate with a bases-clearing triple and four RBIs as the MLB-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (25-12) routed the Miami Marlins 10-1 on Wednesday afternoon at loanDepot Park.
Freeman, who went 3-for-5 in the game and drove in four, extended his hitting streak to 12 games and finished the series 8-for-13 with two home runs and six RBIs. The Dodgers took two of three from the Marlins and have now won four straight series.
The turning point came in the seventh inning when the Dodgers erupted for six runs off Marlins reliever Lake Bachar, who issued a walk and gave up two hits before intentionally walking Shohei Ohtani with first base open. It backfired. Bachar then walked Mookie Betts to force in a run, setting the stage for Freeman’s bases-loaded triple that blew the game open.
Freeman’s big day was complemented by Ohtani, who tripled and drew three walks — one of them intentional — as part of a relentless Dodgers attack. James Outman added the finishing touch with a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth.
Dodgers right-hander Landon Knack (2-0), called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Oklahoma City, gave Los Angeles five shutout innings, allowing just four hits and striking out five. Matt Sauer, also newly recalled, pitched the final four innings to earn his first career save.
The game started as a pitchers’ duel, with Miami rookie Valente Bellozo holding the Dodgers to just one hit over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven. He exited after facing one batter in the sixth — just before Ohtani came up for a third time. Ohtani promptly tripled off reliever Cade Gibson (0-1), who took the loss.
For Miami (14-22), rookie catcher Augustin Ramirez had a single and a double, while Jesús Sánchez drove in the Marlins’ only run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. The loss dropped Miami to 2-9 in its last 11 games.
The Dodgers’ six-run seventh inning against Bachar, punctuated by Freeman’s bases-clearing triple, flipped a close game into a blowout. After managing just one hit off Bellozo through the first five innings, the Dodgers exploded for 11 hits against four Marlins relievers.
The Dodgers head to Arizona to open a four-game series Thursday, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-2, 0.90 ERA) getting the start. The Marlins have a day off before beginning a three-game road set against the Chicago White Sox on Friday with Max Meyer (2-3, 3.92 ERA) on the mound.
