LOS ANGELES, CA — The Dodgers host the Orioles for the next three days, and with thirty games left for Baltimore, they need to avoid a sweep by the team with the best record in baseball. Why? Because trailing the first-place Yankees by two games could quickly turn into a five-game lead for New York. The Dodgers are capable of winning three games at home against anyone. By the way, the Dodgers only have a three-game lead over the Diamondbacks and will be pushing hard to maintain that lead.
WATCH: Lead Up To First Pitch Here
Views from Dodger Stadium during batting practice – Image Credit: Latino Sports
Dodger starter Jack Flaherty comes into the game 11-5, 3.00 ERA, 129 innings, and 162 strikeouts. The Birds counter with lefty Cole Irvin, 6-5, 4.82 ERA, 99 innings, and 68 strikeouts. The Orioles have one of the best young teams in baseball, and how well they play against this powerful Dodger team should send a signal, good or bad, to the rest of the American League as to how dangerous or not they will be in the postseason.
The Orioles started things in the second inning when Ryan O’Hearn hit a 376-foot home run into the right-field pavilion. The Dodgers countered with one run in the bottom of the second and one in the next inning to take a 2-1 lead. At that point, Flaherty had Baltimore batters off balance with a diet of fastballs and off-speed pitches. Changing his speed on all his pitches, he looked like he was in complete control. Then in the top of the fifth inning, he somehow snagged a line-drive hit right at his head, then just missed getting hit with another hard shot up the middle, followed by a 385-foot two-run home run off the bat of Orioles number nine hitter Ramón Urías, Magdalena de Kino, SO, Mexico, giving Baltimore a 3-2 lead.
Ramón is getting it done. pic.twitter.com/8kJ8vyNMIE
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 28, 2024
The Orioles rolled out an all-Latino bullpen of Cionel Pérez, Matanzas, Cuba, Yennier Cano, Havana, Cuba, and Seranthony Domínguez, Esperanza Valverde Mao, Dominican Republic, that shut the Mighty Dodger offense down for the last three innings to secure the 3-2 win in game one.
The win brings the Orioles one game closer to the Yankees, who lost today, while the Dodgers lost no ground with a Diamondback loss this evening.
Jackson Holliday runs into the dugout at the end of an inning – Image Credit: Simon Lindenblatt/Latino Sports
The crowd of 52,382 on a Tuesday night with the kids back in school, the 15th sellout of the year. Tomorrow is Shohei Ohtani Bobblehead night and is already a sellout and with fourteen home games left on the schedule, they could touch four million.
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Julio Pabon
August 28, 2024 at 7:57 am
Very informative article on both teams. Loved the picture of the press box seat ID tag. The Dodgers are now Tri-lingual. English, Spanish & Japanese?