Ohtani’s 473-foot drive sparks 6-homer offense for Dodgers in 9-6 win over Red Sox

“We weren’t playing good baseball going into halftime. And when we came out fresh against a really good baseball team and played the way we did — the offense came alive,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said.

It was the 25th time the Dodgers have hit at least six home runs in a game and the first since 2022 against Kansas City. Five came from Boston starter Kutter Crawford (6-8).

“I think winning, coming back from behind and winning a lot of these games, tough situation, it really creates a lot of momentum for the team. So I hope that continues,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.

Jarren Duran, the MVP of last Tuesday’s All-Star Game, hit a home run and drove in four runs for the Red Sox (53-45), who fell a game behind the Royals (55-45) in the battle for the final AL wild card.

“All they do is hit a ball in the air, obviously. They throw in the zone, they hit the ball in the air and they hit a couple of home runs,” Boston manager Alex Cora said.

James Paxton (8-2) allowed three runs on four hits and struck out seven in five innings. Boston rallied for three runs in the ninth, but Daniel Hudson came in for his sixth save.

Barnes’ solo shot gave the Dodgers a 5-2 lead in the fifth, and Ohtani hit a cutter off Crawford 473 feet over the stands to become the first NL player with 30 homers this season. Aaron Judge leads the majors with 35.

According to fans in the area, the ball flew between the roof of the pavilion and an advertising board in the right midfield, but flew over the concourse and landed on the walkway in the stadium square.

“I was watching, but I really couldn’t see where it was going,” said Ohtani, who has hit at least 30 home runs in four straight seasons. “Everyone was kind of in awe.”

Crawford allowed six runs and seven hits in five-plus innings, becoming the first Boston starter since Nathan Eovaldi in 2022 to allow five home runs in a game.

“They’ve got a good lineup. It’s pretty deep. They force you to make pitches and execute. And if you don’t, they’ll do damage,” Crawford said. “I left a couple of pitches over the middle of the plate and they didn’t miss.”

Boston took a 2-0 lead after three pitches in the game. Romy Gonzalez led off with a first-pitch double before Duran Paxton’s fastball smashed into the stands in left-center.

Duran went 6-for-12 with two home runs and seven RBIs in the series.

The Dodgers tied the score in the second half of the season thanks to Freeman’s solo shot to right-center and Lux’s RBI double.

Hernández, the winner of Monday’s Home Run Derby, gave Los Angeles the lead with a shot that just cleared the short wall in the right-field corner.

Lux had a solo shot in the fourth inning and Heyward, who was injured before the game, hit a two-run drive against former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning.

“I thought we hit the bat pretty well in Detroit and that’s the same here,” Barnes said. “Obviously we pitched well the first two days and those were good wins. And we’ve had a couple of offensive days in a row. Yeah, it’s nice to score runs. It’s easier to pitch that way, that’s for sure.”

Red Sox: OF Rob Refsnyder was pulled from the lineup due to a left shoulder injury after attempting a diving catch on Saturday.

Dodgers: SS Miguel Rojas left the fourth inning with a stiff right forearm. He is not expected to return to the lineup on Monday.

Red Sox: RHP Tanner Houck (8-6), fourth in the majors with a 2.54 ERA, will start Monday’s series opener in Colorado.

Dodgers: RHP River Ryan is expected to make his major league debut Monday against San Francisco.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb