Will Smith on Saturday hit a go-ahead, two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning on his 31st birthday, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks for a season-opening three-game sweep, while Freddie Freeman was forced to hug it out.
Smith began his bobblehead night going 0-for-3. After Mookie Betts walked, Smith sent a 2-2 pitch from reliever Juan Morillo (0-1) over the wall in centerfield, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.
Edwin Diaz retired the side on three consecutive fly balls in the ninth to earn his second consecutive save. He again trotted out to trumpeter Tatiana Tate blaring his entrance music Narco from the left field stands near the bullpen. Fans were on their feet bopping along.
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Will Klein (0-1) got the win in relief, allowing a run and striking out one in the eighth.
Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow gave up two runs and four hits in six innings and struck out six in his season debut.
The Diamondbacks failed to make an early 2-0 lead hold up for the third straight game. They lost 8-2 on Thursday and 5-4 on Friday.
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Meanwhile, Freeman finally got his first hit of the season after starting 0-for-8 — but his time on the basepaths was cut short by a hug.
“I didn’t think I’d ever be a part of a hug out on a baseball field,” a smiling Freeman said.
Freeman singled off Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the second inning. Two outs later, Santiago Espinal grounded out to second base.
Ketel Marte fielded the ball nearly halfway between first and second, blocking Freeman’s path while putting his arms out.
With nowhere to run, Freeman walked toward a smiling Marte, who tagged him out with a hug to end the inning.
“I stopped and I was like: ‘Is there any way around this? If I go out of the baseline, I’m out. If I run back, he’ll just run to second,’” Freeman said. “He gave me a little: ‘Come here,’ and I was like: ‘All right, let’s just do it.’”
Freeman is known to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and he has greeted opposing players who arrive at first base with hugs in the past.
“I’m very much a hugger,” he said. “Emotional man over here.”
Rodriguez ended up giving up a run and four hits in five innings with five strikeouts. He started for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final against the US, allowing no earned runs in 4-1/3 innings to help win the gold medal.
Elsewhere on Saturday, the San Francisco Giants matched a franchise record by reaching 20 straight innings without scoring to begin the season, then finally recorded their first run in the third inning against the New York Yankees before losing 3-1 to be swept.
San Francisco have been shut out by New York 7-0 and 3-0 with only four hits over its first two games — the first time that happened in baseball history to start a season.
The Giants were outscored 13-1 by the Yankees in their opening series, becoming the 11th team to score one or fewer runs over the initial three games of a season.
“Today was better. Obviously we didn’t get the big hit again,” shortstop Willy Adames said. “The first three games haven’t gone the way we wanted to, but that’s how baseball goes. We’re going [in] the right direction.”
In Saturday’s other games, the St Louis Cardinals survived the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 in 10 innings, the Chicago Cubs dominated the Washington Nationals 10-2, the Toronto Blue Jays outplayed the Athletics 8-7 in 11 innings, the Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1, the Texas Rangers pipped the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in 10 innings, the Cincinnati Reds overcame the Boston Red Sox 6-5 in 11 innings and the New York Mets sank the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 in 11 innings.
The Miami Marlins toppled the Colorado Rockies 4-3, the Houston Astros soared past the Los Angeles Angels 11-9, the Milwaukee Brewers took out the Chicago White Sox 6-1, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-2, the San Diego Padres caged the Detroit Tigers 3-0 and the Cleveland Guardians sank the Seattle Mariners 6-5 in 10 innings.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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