The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off a dramatic late inning rally Monday night, stunning the Miami Marlins 5-4 in the series opener behind a clutch, two out hit from Kyle Tucker.
With the Dodgers down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth, Tucker came through when it mattered most. After starting the night 0-for-4, he lined a single to center field that brought home both Shohei Ohtani and pinch-runner Dalton Rushing, flipping a one run deficit into a stunning walk-off victory.
The rally began against Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks, who struggled with command and possibly an injury. He issued a walk to Andy Pages, who later scored on Ohtani’s ground-rule double to cut the deficit to 4-3. After another walk and an intentional pass to Freddie Freeman loaded the bases, Miami turned to Tyler Phillips. Phillips struck out Will Smith, leaving the Dodgers one strike away from defeat before Tucker’s heroics changed everything.
Miami appeared in control midway through the game thanks to Liam Hicks. The Marlins catcher crushed a three-run homer in the fifth inning off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, turning a tight contest into a 4-2 advantage. Hicks jumped on a 92-mph splitter with two outs, sending it into the right-field seats and scoring both Jakob Marsee and Xavier Edwards.
Earlier, the Marlins tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth when Otto Lopez crossed the plate on a fielding error by Dodgers shortstop Hyeseong Kim.
Yamamoto, who had been dominant to start the season, endured his shortest outing of the year. The right-hander allowed four runs on five hits over five innings, striking out four while issuing a season-high four walks. His streak of five consecutive quality starts came to an end.
For Miami, starter Chris Paddack gave up two runs on four hits over four innings, striking out one. The Marlins bullpen held the Dodgers in check until the ninth, when control issues and a late pitching change proved costly.
Meanwhile, Dodgers reliever Jake Eder earned his first major league win, tossing a scoreless inning and allowing just one hit.
Los Angeles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning behind an RBI single from Teoscar Hernández, which scored Ohtani and Freeman after they opened the game with back-to-back hits.
The Dodgers had opportunities to break the game open but couldn’t capitalize. In the seventh inning, they loaded the bases but came up empty when Smith grounded out against reliever Andrew Nardi.
Despite the missed chances, the Dodgers showed resilience late, improving to 3-7 this season when trailing after seven innings. What looked like a frustrating loss quickly turned into a memorable comeback, powered by Tucker’s timely swing.
For the Marlins, it was a tough collapse after holding a late lead, as their bullpen faltered at the worst possible moment.
