Dodgers use 6-run 8th inning to beat Reds in home opener
April 15, 2022 9:42 PM — Posted by anaheimsigns — Posted at irvine sign company-
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman reacts to the cheering, chanting crowd after hitting a double during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws to the plate during the first inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner tags out the Cincinnati Reds’ Jonathan India at second base on a stolen base attempt during the first inning of the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws to the plate during the first inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Justin Turner waits for his turn at bat during the third inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers third baseman Hanser Alberto throws late as the Cincinnati Reds’ Jonathan India is safe at first base during the fifth inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers third baseman Hanser Alberto throws late as the Cincinnati Reds’ Jonathan India is safe at first base during the fifth inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws to the plate during the first inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino watches the flight of his two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler looks toward home plate after giving up a two-run home run to the Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino (not pictured) during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino rounds first base after hitting a two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino rounds third base after hitting a two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino points to the sky after hitting a two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino, right, high-fives teammate Mike Moustakas after hitting a two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino high-fives teammates as he returns to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler leaves the game after giving up a two-run home run to the Cincinnati Reds’ Aristides Aquino (not pictured) during the sixth inning on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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New Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman looks on during the fifth inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Max Muncy bats during their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Max Muncy runs to first base during their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers relief pitcher David Price throws to the plate during the seventh inning of their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman watches his ground-rule double during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Fans reach for a ball that was hit for a ground-rule double by the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (not pictured) during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Fans reach for a ball that was hit for a ground-rule double by the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (not pictured) during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman reacts to the cheering, chanting crowd after hitting a ground-rule double during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Trea Turner singles to drive in Freddie Freeman with the go-ahead run during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, right, high-fives teammate Justin Turner after scoring the go-ahead run on a double by Trea Turner, not pictured, during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers scored six runs in the eighth for a 9-3 win. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, left, high-fives Manager Dave Roberts after scoring the go-ahead run on a double by Trea Turner, not pictured, during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers scored six runs in the eighth for a 9-3 win. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Will Smith watches the flight of his three-run home run The Dodgers’ Will Smith, right, is greeted by teammate Justin Turner at home plate after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Cincinnati Reds center fielder Jake Fraley can’t reach a ball that was hit for a three-run home run by the Dodgers’ Will Smith (not pictured) during the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ home opener on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Cincinnati Reds center fielder Jake Fraley can’t reach a ball that was hit for a three-run home run by the Dodgers’ Will Smith (not pictured) during the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ home opener on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Will Smith, right, slaps hands with third base coach Dino Ebel as he circles the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Will Smith, right, is greeted by teammate Justin Turner at home plate after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Will Smith, right, is greeted by teammate Justin Turner at home plate after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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The Dodgers’ Will Smith, right, celebrates with teammate Justin Turner at home plate after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Six-year-old Samantha Medina of San Fernando holds up a picture she made of Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Cars line the parking lot as people make their way into Dodger Stadium ahead of the team’s 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Cars line the parking lot as people make their way into Dodger Stadium for the team’s 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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A popcorn vendor works the stands prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Fans await the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Fans await the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers players and coaches are introduced prior to their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Pregame festivities with a flyover and a giant American flag prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Pregame festivities included a flyover by a pair of F35s prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Pregame festivities with a flyover and a giant American flag prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers Hall of Fame Spanish-language broadcaster Jamie Jarrin, center, after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch with Dodger greats Wes Parker, Rick Monday, Fernando Valenzuela, Adrian Beltre, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra and Adrian Gonzalez, right, prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers players take batting practice prior to their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, left, talks with first baseman Freddie Freeman prior to their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers Hall of Fame Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime Jarrin, left, talks with Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, right, looks on as catcher Will Smith works on his swing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, talks with Hall of Fame Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime Jarrin prior to their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers manager chats around the batting cage prior to their 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw hangs out with his family prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts runs past a giant “42” in the outfield in honor of Jackie Robinson prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, talks with Hall of Fame Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime Jarrin prior to the Dodgers’ 2022 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
LOS ANGELES ― Freddie Freeman stood on second base, soaking it all in. His first home game at Dodger Stadium had allowed a rare baseball moment, a natural pause in the action as a sold-out crowd chanted his first name over and over.
The noise grew loud enough that Freeman had to acknowledge it. He removed his helmet, waved to the crowd with his left hand, then tapped his helmet against his chest with his right. The Orange County native waited out a Cincinnati Reds pitching change on Thursday night in a place where he figures to be for most of the next six years: the center of the action.
Freeman’s ground-rule double, followed by Trea Turner’s RBI single against reliever Tony Santillan, snapped a tie in the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ eventual 9-3 victory over the Reds.
With four generations of his family in attendance, it was the perfect welcome-home moment for the 32-year-old first baseman.
“That’s as special as it gets right there,” Freeman said. “You have those feelings before coming out on the line for the (pregame) intros, but usually once the game starts those feelings go away. The fans created a moment for me in the eighth inning and it’s something I’ll never forget. It was a special night for me.”
Later in the eighth inning, Will Smith knocked Santillan out of the game with a three-run home run, turning what had been a close contest into a comfortable victory in the Dodgers’ home opener. The Dodgers scored three runs in the first inning, six in the eighth, and nothing in between. They collected 14 hits in total.
Starting pitcher Walker Buehler threw 5⅔ solid innings in his second start of 2022. A two-run home run by Aristides Aquino ended Buehler’s day and spoiled the Dodgers’ shutout bid in the sixth inning. The right-hander allowed five hits, walked three and struck out four.
“I had some kind of weird at-bats in there and Will steered me through it,” Buehler said. “That’s what he’s gotten so good at. Hats off to him.”
The Dodgers used five consecutive singles in the first inning to score three runs. Their 2-through-6 hitters – Freeman, Turner, Justin Turner, Max Muncy and Smith – effectively sacrificed power for contact against Reds opener Luis Cessa. Smith’s dribbler under the glove of shortstop Kyle Farmer never left the infield, while Justin Turner scored to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.
Cessa gave way to left-hander Reiver Sanmartin to begin the second inning, and a new game broke out. Bellinger scorched a line-drive single to right field, but the next 10 Dodgers were retired in order. The announced crowd of 52,995 grew quiet.
Roberts said the Dodgers were prepared to see Sanmartin after Cessa’s one inning.
“The lineup construction … that’s why I did what I did as far as spacing some guys out, thinking that Sanmartin was going to get most of the (innings),” he said.
Buehler, meanwhile, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, then found trouble again with two outs in the sixth. The right-hander walked Tyler Stephenson on five pitches. The next batter, Aquino, took a powerful hack at a letter-high fastball on a 2-and-2 count.
Buehler’s velocity was routinely touching 96 mph in the first inning but had fallen to 93.5 on his 98th and final pitch, which Aquino planted over the fence in right-center field. It was the first home run he’s allowed this season.
“I wish I’d thrown it a little bit harder and he wouldn’t have hit it,” Buehler said. “He’s a talented guy and got to it. Hats off to him; I kind of made the pitch I wanted to.”
Sanmartin effectively pitched to contact over five shutout innings, striking out two and leaving with a 3-2 deficit. That would have qualified as the most surprising performance of the night were it not for Brandon Drury.
The veteran utility player wasn’t in the Reds’ starting lineup. He took over as a pinch runner in the fifth inning when Jonathan India injured his hamstring running out an infield single. In his first at-bat of the night, Drury greeted David Price with a solo home run in the seventh inning, tying the score at 3-3.
Blake Treinen (1-1) tossed a scoreless eighth inning for the Dodgers and was credited with the victory.
Freeman was the Dodgers’ prize free agent acquisition of the offseason. He signed a six-year, $162 million contract in March after leading the Atlanta Braves to last year’s championship.
Home at last, Freeman said his son, father and grandfather were among the crowd in his family’s suite. His extended family grew by several thousand for a night.
“All the fans in the stadium tonight, that was their way of putting their arms around him,” Roberts said of Freeman. “You look at the stadium and he’s at second base, and everyone chanting his name – it was their way of all putting their arms around him. He was getting emotional. It was pretty special.”
Chants of “FREDDIE! FREDDIE!” ring around Dodger Stadium after his leadoff ground-rule double in the 8th.
pic.twitter.com/3ikUPtcBb6
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 15, 2022
“I got the chills going through my body. It’s hard to really put into words…that’s as special as it gets.” @FreddieFreeman5 with @kirsten_watson on the emotions he felt during the “Freddie!” chants from #Dodgers fans in the 8th. pic.twitter.com/gqTwGCztJ6
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 15, 2022
Will Smith with some precious insurance for the #Dodgers!
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 15, 2022
Dave Roberts reflects on a special moment for Freddie Freeman, Walker Buehler’s outing, and highlights the #Dodgers aggressive base running in tonight’s 9-3 win. pic.twitter.com/prbMmmmpjB
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 15, 2022
“I found it and lost it.” Walker Buehler on his rhythm in tonight’s home opener where he went 5.2 IP allowing 5 H & 2 R with 4 Ks. pic.twitter.com/lDIs5tUcfN
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 15, 2022
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