Betts homers in ninth but Ohtani pops up with bases loaded to cap Dodgers 10-inning, 6-5 loss to Cardinals
Paul Goldschidt drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning with a groundout after Mookie Betts homered again to help Los Angeles tie it in the ninth, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Dodgers 6-5 on Saturday night.
The Cardinals turned a hit batter, a catcher's interference and a balk into a five-run seventh inning and led 5-3 in the ninth. The Dodgers tied it against Ryan Helsley (1-0) on a one-out home run from Betts and a game-tying single from Max Muncy with two outs. Betts has a home run in four consecutive games.
Right-hander Lance Lynn pitched four scoreless innings in his first outing for St. Louis since 2017, then was pulled following a rare Dodger Stadium rain delay that lasted 35 minutes. It was believed to be the first rain delay at the ballpark since April of 2017.
Dodgers right-hander Kyle Hurt (0-1) gave up a run in 2 2/3 innings. Helsley gave up two runs on four hits in the ninth before Giovanny Gallegos pitched the 10th for his first save.
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto went five scoreless innings for Los Angeles in his home debut, pitching on both sides of the rain delay. He bounced back from his dismal MLB debut on March 21, when he gave up five runs in just one inning against the San Diego Padres at Seoul, South Korea.
Will Smith had a pair of RBI singles and Freddie Freeman added an RBI single for the Dodgers.
The game was scoreless when the delay began at the end of the fourth inning. Yamamoto returned with another scoreless innings before the Dodgers took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back RBI hits from Freeman and Smith.
The Cardinals went to work in the seventh, loading the bases on Nolan Gorman's walk, while Nolan Arenado was hit by a pitch and Matt Carpenter loaded the bases on Smith's catcher's interference.
After Carpenter scored the go-ahead run following Joe Kelly's balk with Victor Scott II at the plate, Brendan Donovan hit a two-run double to right for a 5-2 lead.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw, who isn't expected to pitch until the second half after offseason shoulder surgery, played catch from 120 feet in the outfield Saturday as he continues his throwing program. ... RHP Brusdar Graterol (shoulder) is expected to pitch from a mound next week as he continues his rehab after starting the season in the injured list.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: LHP Steven Matz will make his season debut after going 4-7 with a 3.86 ERA in 25 appearances (17 starts) last season.
Dodgers: RHP Gavin Stone will make his season debut after he went 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in eight appearances (four starts) last season and winning a rotation spot in spring training.
