HOUSTON — There are offensive outbursts, and then there are afternoons like the one Andy Pages delivered Wednesday at Daikin Park.
The Dodgers closed out their road trip with a statement, routing the Astros 12-2 to secure the series victory in Houston behind the first three-homer game of Pages’ young career. But while the Dodgers’ offense erupted for 14 hits and 12 runs, the biggest development of the afternoon may have come just one inning into Tyler Glasnow’s start.
The Dodgers needed a response after mustering only one run in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss. They got one immediately, and emphatically.
Pages blasted three home runs, drove in six runs and continued his recent surge at the plate, carrying a Dodgers lineup that poured on 10 runs through the first five innings. The 25-year-old outfielder entered the game already swinging a hot bat, and by the end of Wednesday afternoon he had completely taken over the finale.
But before the offensive avalanche began, concern settled over the Dodgers dugout.
Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Daikin Park.
Glasnow took the mound for the bottom of the second inning, threw a warm-up pitch, then immediately motioned for a trainer. Moments later, Glasnow walked off the mound alongside the training staff, ending his afternoon after just one inning because of low back pain.
“It’s a cool accomplishment,” Glasnow said afterward of recording his 1,000th career strikeout earlier in the game. “It would’ve been better if I didn’t get taken out of the game in the second.”
Glasnow said his back “gave out” during a warm-up throw before the second inning. He attempted another pitch but quickly realized something was wrong. According to Glasnow, the discomfort resembled the issue that forced him to miss time in Baltimore last season and eventually led to an injured list stint in 2024.
Dave Roberts said he does not expect Glasnow to land on the injured list, though the right-hander will undergo an MRI once the team returns to Los Angeles. Before exiting, Glasnow experienced both ends of the emotional spectrum.
Astros’ Brice Matthews jumped on the third pitch of the game for a leadoff homer, briefly giving Houston a 1-0 lead. But one batter later, Glasnow reached a milestone when he froze Yordan Alvarez with a curveball for his 1,000th career strikeout.
That was all the Dodgers would get from Glasnow: one inning, one hit, one run and two strikeouts on 19 pitches. Jack Dreyer stabilized the game from there, tossing two scoreless innings in relief and helping bridge the Dodgers to the middle innings, where the offense completely took over.
Oddly enough, the Dodgers’ rally started without much hard contact.
Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. struggled badly to control the running game and his throws. A wild throw in the second inning allowed the Dodgers to tie the game, then consecutive wild throws in the third helped both Alex Freeland and Shohei Ohtani score for a 3-1 Dodgers lead.
Ohtani’s run-scoring sequence was especially notable because it snapped an 0-for-18 skid when he ripped a double earlier in the inning.
Then came Pages.
With runners aboard later in the third, Pages unloaded on a three-run homer to left-center, blowing the game open and extending the Dodgers’ lead to 6-1. It was another sign that the young outfielder is finding his rhythm again at the plate. Pages extended his hitting streak to eight games and continued a stretch in which he has looked increasingly dangerous in the middle of the lineup.
Freddie Freeman added on in the fourth with his 10th double of the season, collecting the 557th double to make it 7-1.
An inning later, Pages struck again.
The outfielder launched a two-run homer in the fifth for his third career multi-homer game, pushing the Dodgers’ advantage to 9-1. Ohtani followed later in the inning with an RBI single to score Dalton Rushing as the Dodgers reached double digits before the game was halfway complete.
Ohtani finished 2 for 4 with a double and RBI, a welcome sight after his recent skid.
The Dodgers kept adding late.
Hyeseong Kim collected his first triple of the season in the seventh, later scoring on Alex Freeland’s RBI single to make it 11-1. Houston scratched across another run in the inning, but by then the game had long been decided.
Pages made sure the afternoon ended with one final exclamation point. Leading off the ninth inning, he crushed his third homer of the game, a solo shot to left, giving him eight home runs on the season and cementing the best offensive performance of his career. Houston had no answers for him all afternoon.
Pages finished going 3-for-5 with three home runs, pushing his batting average to .336 this season.
The Dodgers finished the road trip at an even 3-3 and now head home with momentum after taking a series from the Astros. Their next challenge comes Friday at Dodger Stadium, where the Braves arrive to open a three-game series. If Wednesday was any indication, Pages may be turning into one of the hottest bats, again, in the Dodgers lineup at exactly the right time.