Will Smith, Freddie Freeman have clutch hits as Dodgers defeat Reds

Cincinnati – For the first half of July, the Dodgers offensive had a hard time creating coherent score chances.

In recent weeks, the problem has been more devoted to their capitalization.

Tuesday, at the bottom of the 5-4 victory against the Reds of Cincinnati, however, the team finally found a few strokes of the end of the game.

Will Smith and Freddie Freeman struck simple consecutive RBIs in the seventh round, erasing the two -point deficit that Tyler Glasnow had left in a disappointing start of four boosts and four points.

Then Smith returned to the ninth, lacing a two -point RBI gunshot on the wall on the left which marked James Outman, the twinge runner, from the first base.

It was the 37th Dodgers victory for victory this season; And, given how July took place so far for the team, one of his greatest from the end of serial victory in Cincinnati.

“It’s huge to win the series tonight,” said Smith. “We needed a big blow right there.

And, the Dodgers (63-45) Hope, passing through the last section of the season.

In the midst of the many dodgers problems on the plate this month, striking with runners in a rating position had become one of the most blatant weaknesses. Upon entering the game on Tuesday, the team only struck .242 in such situations in July, ranking in the lower half of the majors for the month. The wasted chances were a decisive theme of the defeat of the team series in Boston this weekend, punctuated by a Sunday defeat in which they went for 11 with runners in a score position and failed 13 men on the basis.

At the start of Tuesday’s match, the problem persisted. After a two -point circuit from Tommy Edman – who was back in alignment despite a thrust of his ankle injury during the weekend – in the second round, the Dodgers left the runners blocked in the score position in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.

In two of these failed rallies, Shohei Ohtani’s stick withdrawal proved to be expensive, part of a night 0 for 5 in which he withdrew five times.

“I think he just went into swing mode,” said manager Dave Roberts. “When he is the best, he climbs baseball and he uses the large part of the field … But tonight, just one of these nights that he just couldn’t help him to swing.”

On the mound, during this time, Glasnow won in the stifling summer heat, abandoning two circuits on cursors raised in the fourth round before leaving the match with the loaded bases and without withdrawal in the fifth; Fortunately, only one of the runners he left to score.

“I felt very early,” said Glasnow, who saw a series of three strong starts since his return from the injured list broke with her departure from four heats and more than four rounds. “In a way, lost the feeling towards the end. I don’t really know what it was. I simply did not perform in the area.

Decreasing 4-2 at that time, the Dodgers faced a difficult situation which had so often revealed themselves fatal during their scuffles in recent weeks: a multiple deficit, against the heart of the enclosure of the eggs of the opposing team.

This time, however, the programming found late life.

Michael Comforto started the seventh round rally, pulling a walk as a striker to drive the Channel. This was followed by a single Bloop of Mookie Betts, which reached the base three times to continue its subtle reversal since its passage in place of the head.

Ohtani struck behind him, finishing the night ranked equally in the fourth row of the majors with 129 punchies this year (including 17 in his last 38 strikes).

But then, Smith – the leader of the national league striker with an average of .325 – poured out a simple left and Freeman then equaled the score with a simple RBI in the same direction, giving him his first three -stroke match (two of which were readers of the opposite field line; a good sign for his long -term swing) in more than a month.

“It’s Vintage Freddie,” said Roberts. “I think he worked on the test to find a signal, working hard. And tonight, he looked really good. ”

The score has remained linked to the ninth, thanks in large part to 1 ⅓ non -purified sleeves of the former Reds closer to Alexis Díaz, who was hooked by fans of Cincinnati during his first trip to the stadium since he was treated in Dodgers earlier this season.

“I expected something different,” said Díaz, an All-Star in 2023 with the Reds who became favorable after a brutal start of this season. “During these years, I was here, I launched very well and I was liked during this period. So, to see this, it surprised me a lot. But I stayed calm and with the mentality and the relaxed confidence that I was going to do my job. ”

As a result, the Dodgers had the chance to take the lead in the ninth.

Comforto fought again on the base with a walk of 10 pass, before Smith borders a double of the wall on the left which allowed Outman to fly around the bases for the possible round.

“It is difficult to travel the list of quality bats right there,” said Roberts. “But yes, Michael. Obviously, Bat’s desire. Freddie. Just again and again. I think we really set up good at-bats, we found a way to win a ball game.”