Baseball

Freeman’s Grand Slam, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Solid Start Power Dodgers to 6-4 Victory over Diamondbacks

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws to a Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles.

14:13 JST, May 21, 2024

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman’s grand slam keyed a six-run third inning, Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a strong start and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to four with a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

Freeman’s blast off Slade Cecconi (1-4) was part of an onslaught where the first six Dodgers got aboard and scored in the third.

Kiké Hernández and Will Smith also went deep in the inning as Los Angeles improved to 33-17. It is the ninth time in franchise history the Dodgers have at least 33 wins after 50 games.

Arizona’s Ketel Marte extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single in the first inning. It is the longest run in the majors this season and tied for fifth-longest in franchise history.

Kyle Newman added three hits, his fifth multi-hit effort in the last nine games. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jake McCarthy homered but the Diamondbacks have dropped four of six.

Yamamoto (5-1) allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings. He threw a season-high 100 pitches, including 69 strikes.

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, center, throws to an Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles.

Daniel Hudson retired the side in the ninth for his third save in five opportunities.

It was the sixth grand slam in Freeman’s career and his third since the start of last season. He is one of seven players with three over the past two seasons.

The Dodgers are the only team in the majors with two players with at least three grand slams since the start of 2023. Max Muncy leads the team with four.

It didn’t take the Dodgers long to respond after the Diamondbacks opened the scoring on Joc Pederson’s RBI base hit to center.

Hernández led off the inning with a drive to center to tie it at 1-all. Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts followed with singles before Shohei Ohtani drew a walk to load the bases.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) singles on a bunt in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory

Freeman then got hold of Cecconi’s fastball that was low in the strike zone and put it over the wall in right-center for his fifth homer of the year. It also was the third grand slam this season for the Dodgers.

Five pitches later, Smith added a solo shot to left-center, marking the second time this season the Dodgers have had back-to-back homers.

Yamamoto’s night ended when Newman’s RBI base hit up the middle to bring Arizona within 6-2.

Gurriel Jr. and McCarthy’s solo shots in the eighth were the second time the Diamondbacks have hit back-to-back homers this season.