The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their hot streak Monday night, roughing up Sandy Alcántara once again and riding home runs from Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman to a 7-4 win over the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park.
Ohtani’s two-run shot in the fifth inning — a 117.9 mph missile to right-center — tied him with Teoscar Hernández for the team lead in home runs with nine and highlighted a night where the Dodgers lineup wore down Miami’s former Cy Young winner. Freeman added a 402-foot blast in the third inning, a two-run homer that marked his 41st career longball against the Marlins, tying him with Ryan Howard and Ryan Zimmerman for most all-time by an opponent.
“Freddie’s been a thorn in our side for a long time,” said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. “And now they’ve got Ohtani too.”
The win was the eighth in nine games for the Dodgers (22-10), who began a 10-game road trip with another strong offensive performance. Mookie Betts and Hernández each had two hits, while rookie Hyeseong Kim made a memorable MLB debut with two hits and an RBI. His leadoff single in the fifth preceded Ohtani’s homer and marked his first big league hit.
Alcántara (2-4) allowed five runs on six hits over five innings, just six days after surrendering seven runs in 2 2/3 innings against Atlanta. Hernández opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first, but he exited in the fourth due to left hamstring tightness. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the outfielder will undergo an MRI on Tuesday.
Ben Casparius (4-0) earned the win in relief of opener Jack Dreyer, tossing four effective innings and allowing just one run. The Marlins made a late push in the eighth, as rookie Agustin Ramirez hit a three-run homer off Yoendrys Gómez to trim the deficit to 7-4. Tanner Scott came on to end the threat, and Kirby Yates secured his first save of the season with a clean ninth.
Kim’s leadoff single in the fifth sparked a two-run frame capped by Ohtani’s homer, providing the Dodgers with a comfortable cushion.
Ohtani has now homered four times in his last two games at loanDepot Park, including a three-homer game on Sept. 19, 2023, when he became the first player in MLB history to reach 50 home runs and 50 steals in a season.
The Dodgers send right-hander Tony Gonsolin (1-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound Tuesday, while the Marlins counter with Cal Quantrill (2-3, 8.10 ERA).
