In Los Angeles, Mookie Betts emerged as the hero by clouting a decisive three-run homer in the 10th inning, securing an 8-5 triumph for the Dodgers over the Detroit Tigers on Friday evening. This victory came just hours after the Dodgers received their 2024 World Series rings.
The Dodgers have started the season strong, with a perfect 4-0 record for the first time since their championship-winning year in 1981. Betts delivered the crucial hit off Beau Brieske, scoring pinch-hitter Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani.
Betts initially broke a 2-2 tie with a solo home run in the eighth inning, but Detroit responded in the ninth with an RBI single by Manuel Margot to even the score. In the 10th inning, Dillon Dingler smashed a homer and a triple, giving the Tigers a 5-3 lead.
In a tense moment, Dodgers left fielder Michael Conforto failed to catch Dingler’s hit, allowing Detroit’s Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry, who was intentionally walked, to score. The Dodgers trimmed the deficit with Conforto’s ground-rule double before Betts clinched the win with his three-run blast.
Dingler had earlier homered in the second inning off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, putting the Tigers up 1-0. However, Freddie Freeman leveled the score at 2 with a two-run homer against Detroit starter Jack Flaherty.
The evening began with the Dodgers walking a blue carpet to an infield stage, where they were presented with rings commemorating last year’s World Series victory over the New York Yankees. Flaherty, a hometown hero from Burbank, received a standing ovation from the 52,029-strong crowd as he exited in the sixth inning.
A pivotal moment in the ninth came when a call at home plate was reversed, denying the Tigers the go-ahead run after Margot was thrown out.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, set a personal record with 10 strikeouts during the game.
Looking ahead, the Tigers are set to send Reese Olson to the mound for his season debut on Saturday, while the Dodgers will counter with Roki Sasaki, making his first start at Dodger Stadium.