In a spectacle of sheer power, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star-studded lineup made history on Saturday against the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks.
Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, three former MVPs known affectionately among Dodgers fans as “MV3,” launched back-to-back-to-back home runs to open the game against Arizona starter Merrill Kelly.
The whole sequence took place during a span of four pitches and silenced the home crowd while igniting the Dodgers fans in the desert.
Minutes later, the Los Angeles Dodgers PR Department sent word that the three consecutive homers to start the game was the first time the team has accomplished that feat in franchise history.
The Dodgers noted that it was the 16th total time in franchise history the Dodgers have gone back-to-back-to-back in a single game.
The straight homers all began with Shohei Ohtani, the dual-threat sensation, stepping up to the plate to start the game.
With the intensity of a playoff atmosphere in the air, Ohtani unleashed his NL-leading 44th homer of the season, sending the ball soaring over the center-field wall, a 400-foot blast that left Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks stunned.
Not to be outdone, Mookie Betts followed suit, drilling the next pitch into the left-field bleachers.
Just when it seemed the Diamondbacks might catch a breath, Freddie Freeman sent the fourth pitch he saw on a similar trajectory, deep into the right-field stands, completing a trifecta of homers that electrified the Dodgers’ dugout and fans alike.
This remarkable display of power took place over a mere four pitches, leaving Kelly reeling and the Diamondbacks scrambling.
However, the Diamondbacks weren’t about to back down. In a chaotic first inning, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll answered back with an inside-the-park homer, capitalizing on a fly ball that just eluded the grasp of Dodgers’ outfielder Kevin Kiermaier.
It was the first time both teams hit leadoff homers in the same game since the Dodgers and Marlins did it on August 18, 2023, by Jorge Soler and Mookie Betts.
The Diamondbacks managed to tack on three more runs to briefly seize the lead. But the Dodgers, ever resilient, reclaimed their advantage in the second inning with an Ohtani sacrifice fly and a clutch RBI single from Freeman, pushing the score to 5-4.
The back-and-forth battle continued with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. tying the game again at 5-5, before the Dodgers retook the lead in the next inning at 6-5.
Currently, the game is all tied again at 6-6 in the 8th inning.
As the regular season heads into its final stretch, the Dodgers’ MVP trio is peaking at just the right time, and their performance on Saturday was a testament to the potential of this team.
Now that their offense is healthy, the Dodgers seem to be firing on all cylinders at the plate, and they intend to make a statement in this four-game series in the desert with the Diamondbacks, their nearest and closest rivals in the NL West.
Entering Saturday, the Dodgers had a five-game lead in the division, but with three games left to play in the series, that could shrink to as little as two games if they were to lose the next three.
The power and precision of Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman are nothing short of a symphony, a harmonious blend of talent that has made this Dodgers lineup one of the most feared in baseball. Their historic start to Saturday’s game is just another chapter in what could be a season for the record books.
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Source: NBC Los Angeles