Freddie Freeman caps comeback win with walk-off hit in extras

LOS ANGELES – The lights shone brightly for Freddie Freeman as he hit a walk-off RBI double, winning 6-5 in the 10th inning against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

As fans began to leave the stadium in the ninth inning to avoid the heavy Los Angeles traffic, 53,424 were in attendance. However, Max Muncy reminded them that the game wasn’t over yet. He hit a solo home run in the ninth inning, tying the game—his second home run of the night. Muncy has been on fire lately, notching his fifth home run during this homestand and forcing the game into extra innings for the second consecutive night.

The real excitement began in the bottom of the 10th inning when Freddie Freeman delivered a walk-off hit to left field, allowing Tommy Edman to score the winning run. This victory marked the Dodgers' 20th comeback win of the season, resulting in a final score of 6-5 against the Mets.

It was Filipino Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium, coinciding with Clayton Kershaw Day, as he made his fourth start of the season. The Dodgers' offense provided early run support for Kershaw, scoring four runs in the first inning, despite Kershaw allowing an RBI single to Pete Alonso.

Mookie Betts returned to the lineup after missing the last four games due to a toe injury he sustained at home on Wednesday night. Betts, who started at shortstop, quickly made his impact known in the first inning. He singled to right field, and Freddie Freeman followed up with a triple down the right field line, which scored Betts all the way from first base, proving that his injured toe was in good shape. 

Will Smith came to the plate with runners on the corners and grounded into a fielder's choice, earning his 31st run batted in. The Dodgers' offense continued to add insurance runs for Kershaw throughout the game.

Muncy got the Dodgers started in the first inning by hitting a 95 mph fastball down the middle and driving it deep into right field for a two-run home run, his eighth of the season. This gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead at the end of the first inning. After Muncy's home run, Mets right-hander Tylor Megill retired 16 of the next 17 batters. The Dodgers' only hit after the first inning came from Andy Pages, who hit a two-out double in the fourth. By the seventh inning, the Dodgers were trailing 5-4.

Megill (4-4, 3.77 ERA) pitched six innings, allowing four hits and four runs, while walking one and striking out seven on 105 pitches. The Dodgers' offense struggled after the first inning and did not score for seven consecutive innings.

Kershaw’s night appeared to be going smoothly after receiving run support, but the Mets were determined not to give up easily, especially against the team that eliminated them in the NLCS last season. In the third inning, Kershaw allowed a leadoff single to Francisco Lindor, and Juan Soto quickly capitalized by taking a 91 mph fastball from Kershaw deep to right field for his 11th home run of the season and second of the series. Kershaw and Soto have had their share of battles in the past, with Soto challenging Kershaw during a seven-pitch at-bat. Leading up to Tuesday’s game, Kershaw had the advantage, holding Soto to a .111 batting average, going 1-for-9 with one RBI in 12 plate appearances. However, on Tuesday, Soto went 1-for-3 against Kershaw, hitting a home run.

Kershaw entered the fifth inning with a 4-3 lead but left the mound trailing 5-4 after surrendering an RBI double to Pete Alonso. Brandon Nimmo then hit a ground ball to Freddie Freeman and managed to beat Kershaw to first base. Initially, Nimmo was called out, but the Mets challenged the call, which was overturned as Kershaw was a step late, ending his night.

Roberts opted to stick with Kershaw deeper into the fifth inning, despite having runners on second and third. After Nimmo’s infield single that scored Starling Marte, Kershaw's outing was concluded.

Kershaw pitched 4 ⅔ innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs, while walking three and striking out two. He is now just 24 strikeouts away from reaching 3,000 for his career. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is currently in his 18th season with the Dodgers.

"I just need to put it together for a whole game, figure out how to do that, which I think I can do and will do," Kershaw said. "It just better be soon."

Starting pitching has been a significant concern this season as injuries have placed the team in a difficult position. Following Tuesday's performance, Kershaw’s ERA increased to 5.17, which is the second-highest in the starting rotation. Tony Gonsolin has an ERA of 5.23, followed by Landon Knack at 4.58 and Dustin May at 4.09. Yoshinobu Yamamoto started the season leading the league with an ERA under 1.00, but he has struggled in his last two outings, raising his ERA to 2.39.

The Dodgers are likely being forced to accelerate Shohei Ohtani’s rehabilitation, aiming to get him back on the mound for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2023 while playing with the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani recently threw to live hitters for the second time this season and looked impressive, mixing in fastballs and breaking balls. According to Roberts, the timetable for Ohtani's return to the mound will be after the All-Star break.

After left-hander Tanner Scott struggled in a rough outing against the Mets on Monday, Roberts decided to give him the opportunity to start the 10th inning. With a runner on second to begin the inning, Scott successfully navigated the situation without allowing the runner to score.

“I think I’ve shown that I’m going to continue to stick with guys and trust them and believe in them,” Roberts said. “I think in this particular instance, I think Connor McGuiness and Mark Prior did a great job with some things that we kind of cleaned up mechanically, that he really took to — and you saw tonight that the fastball had a lot more life, the slider had swing and miss to it, which we haven’t really seen consistently. So Connor certainly deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Scott (1-2, 4.55 ERA) began the inning by striking out Soto and Alonso swinging at sliders they couldn't connect with. The Dodgers then found a way to proceed to the bottom of the 10th inning. Ohtani was intentionally walked to open the inning, followed by Mookie Betts flying out, and Freeman came through once again, performing as he typically does.

The Dodgers quickly moved on to prepare for the third game of the four-game series, with the Mets set to start right-hander Griffin Canning (5-2, 3.23 ERA) against Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin (3-1, 5.23 ERA).