Ohtani’s 473-foot drive sparks 6-homer offense for Dodgers in 9-6 win over Red Sox

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a 473-foot home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers scored six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also scored to give Los Angeles the three-game series win.

It was the 25th time the Dodgers have hit at least six home runs in a game and the first since 2022 against Kansas City. Five came from Boston starter Kutter Crawford (6-8).

Jarren Duran, the MVP of last Tuesday’s All-Star Game, hit a home run and drove in four runs for the Red Sox (53-45), who fell a game behind the Royals (55-45) in the battle for the final AL wild card.

James Paxton (8-2) allowed three runs on four hits and struck out seven in five innings. Boston rallied for three runs in the ninth, but Daniel Hudson came in for his sixth save.

Barnes’ solo shot gave the Dodgers a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning, and Ohtani drove a cutter from Crawford 473 feet over the stands to become the first NL player with 30 homers this season. Aaron Judge leads the majors with 35.

According to fans in the area, the ball flew between the roof of the pavilion and an advertising board in the right midfield, but flew over the concourse and landed on the walkway in the stadium square.

It is the fourth straight season in which Ohtani has hit at least 30 home runs.

Crawford allowed six runs and seven hits in five-plus innings.

Boston took a 2-0 lead after three pitches in the game. Romy Gonzalez led off with a first-pitch double before Duran Paxton’s fastball smashed into the stands in left-center.

The Dodgers tied the score in the second half of the season thanks to Freeman’s solo shot to right-center and Lux’s RBI double.

Hernández, the winner of Monday’s Home Run Derby, gave Los Angeles the lead with a shot that just cleared the short wall in the right-field corner.

Lux had a solo shot in the fourth inning and Heyward, who was injured before the game, hit a two-run drive against former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: OF Rob Refsnyder was pulled from the lineup due to a left shoulder injury after attempting a diving catch on Saturday.

Dodgers: Heyward missed two weeks with a left knee contusion.

NEXT ONE

Red Sox: RHP Tanner Houck (8-6), fourth in the majors with a 2.54 ERA, will start Monday’s series opener in Colorado.

Dodgers: RHP River Ryan is expected to make his major league debut Monday against San Francisco.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb