Teoscar Hernandez hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-3 victory over the host Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday.
Shohei Ohtani uncharacteristically allowed three runs on the mound and struck out four times, but Los Angeles rallied against Cristopher Sanchez and the Philadelphia bullpen. Enrique Hernandez had a key two-run double for the Dodgers.
Sanchez gave up two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings before David Robertson (0-1) and Matt Strahm combined to surrender the lead. J.T. Realmuto knocked in two runs for the Phillies, who will aim to even the series when the teams reconvene for Game 2 on Monday.
Sanchez struck out Ohtani on three pitches to open the game as part of a 1-2-3 first inning. He allowed a pair of baserunners in the second, but retired Andy Pages on a strikeout to end the threat.
That set the stage for Philadelphia to score three times in the bottom of the second, highlighted by Realmuto’s two-run triple. Two batters later, Harrison Bader lofted a sacrifice fly to deep left to make it 3-0.
In the fifth, Alex Call led off with an infield hit against Sanchez, who then retired the next three hitters — including a pair of strikeouts — to keep the visitors scoreless.
However, Los Angeles finally got to Sanchez in the sixth. Freddie Freeman drew a two-out walk and Tommy Edman singled to set the stage for Enrique Hernandez’s two-run double that made it 3-2 and ended the night for Sanchez.
Robertson opened the seventh by allowing a single and a hit batter. Strahm then came on and retired Ohtani and Mookie Betts before Hernandez lofted a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center.
Ohtani (1-0) allowed three runs and three hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out nine in his first career postseason start.
Tyler Glasnow and Alex Vesia combined to get the Dodgers through the seventh and eighth innings. Vesia came on with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth and got pinch hitter Edmundo Sosa on a fly ball to center.
Roki Sasaki worked around a one-out double in the ninth to earn the save.
