Will Smith doubled home Mookie Betts with the go-ahead run with two outs in the ninth and finished with 2-for-5 with two RBIs to rally the Los Angeles Dodgers past the host Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 on Tuesday.
Former Cincinnati closer Alexis Diaz (1-0) picked up his first win of the season and his first-ever with the Dodgers with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Alex Vesia picked up his fourth save in five chances with a scoreless ninth.
Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo struck out a season-high 11 in 5 1/3 innings, reaching double-digit strikeouts for the first time since Apr. 29, 2024, when he also struck out 11 at San Diego. Most impressively, he fanned Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani three times in the first five innings.
The Cincinnati southpaw allowed six hits and two runs before being pulled after a Freddie Freeman sharp groundout to first.
Reds’ reliever Graham Ashcraft then struck out Ohtani for the so-called “Golden Sombrero” in the seventh. It was the sixth four-strikeout game in Ohtani’s career.
Ohtani narrowly escaped the indignity of five strikeouts when he flew out to right on a 2-2 count in the ninth, just prior to Smith’s go-ahead double to left against reliever Emilio Pagan (2-3).
Coming off his first career complete game shutout last Wednesday in Washington, Lodolo threw 94 pitches and was in line for his fourth win in as many starts until the Dodgers’ rally. He finished July with a 3-1 record and a 1.89 ERA in five starts.
Scott Barlow recorded the final two outs of the sixth, but Ashcraft couldn’t protect a 4-2 lead in the seventh as Smith and Freddie Freeman produced two-out RBI singles.
Tommy Edman gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead against Lodolo in the second with his 12th homer of the season, an opposite field line drive that just cleared the wall down the right field line.
The Reds bounced back against Los Angeles starter Tyler Glasnow in the fourth on a two-run homer from Jake Fraley and a solo homer from Noelvi Marte for a 3-2 lead. Glasnow allowed four runs on four hits over four innings, walking five and striking out three.
Will Smith drives home game-winner as Dodgers rally past Reds
