Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
After a red-hot start to the season, the Dodgers have been enduring a roller coaster ride as of late, especially based on their standards. But on Sunday, Los Angeles dominated the Diamondbacks 8-1 to split their four-game series.
The Dodgers' win was powered by their top players keeps Los Angeles in first place in the National League West. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman homered and Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith drove in runs as the Dodgers plastered 18 hits all over Arizona.
Six different Dodgers' batters picked up multiple hits in the game. But the two biggest hits of the day left the ballpark.
With four runs already on the board in the seventh, Freeman sent a pitch over the fence in right field. It was a solo shot and Freeman's third hit from his 4-for-4 performance. Freeman recorded three total RBI and two runs scored.
Freeman's monster performance came in response to his first hitless game in about a month of baseball. Freeman went 0-for-4 in Los Angeles' 3-0 loss on Saturday night, snapping his 14-game hit streak.
Freeman is now hitting an eye-popping .376 with nine home runs and 33 RBI in 31 games and 109 at-bats on the year.
Los Angeles never took their foot off the gas either. A couple of innings later, with the game well in hand, Betts rocketed a ball to one of the deepest parts of Chase Field in right-center field. Betts scored three times himself and finished the game 3-for-5.
Much like Freeman, Betts was hitless on Saturday, but then found his groove a day later. He now has six home runs and 24 RBI.
Ohtani was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run, Smith was 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk, and right fielder Andy Pages drove the remaining run home, going 2-for-5.
The Dodgers will now head home following three consecutive series on the road — they went 6-4 during that 10-game stretch. Los Angeles currently holds a 27-14 record with a slim one-game lead ahead of San Diego, who just lost 9-3 to the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies.
Mike J. Asti
Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market
