Betts’ 300th – Mookie Betts hit his 300th career home run as Shohei Ohtani sparked a three-run third inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers complete a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 4-3 win Wednesday night.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Target Field sellout didn’t even need to wait for fireworks. By the time Shohei Ohtani turned a late chase into a front-foot moment with an RBI single in the third inning, the Los Angeles Dodgers were already setting the tone.
Minnesota had taken a punch in a three-run second, and Ohtani made sure the answer came quickly, driving in an RBI to spark a three-run third inning against Twins starter Joe Ryan. The lead held just long enough to feel reachable for the Twins, but not long enough to change the ending.
Max Muncy and Alex Call brought the tying and go-ahead runs in off Ryan for the MLB-leading Dodgers, and Tanner Scott finished it with his 11th save in a 4-3 win that completed a three-game sweep.
Betts, who backed Ohtani’s big night with three hits and sharp defense, added his own milestone. He hit his 300th career home run and then patrolled the middle of the field like a reminder that hitting isn’t the only thing that moves a game. In the fourth. Betts snagged a grounder up the middle and fired an off-balance. on-target throw to first base to retire Ryan Kreidler. ending the inning with runners at second and third. Later. he made a sliding stop of a ground ball by Royce Lewis to get the last out of the sixth.
With Ohtani (8-2) on the mound and Minnesota countering with its ace Ryan (5-4), the noise was loud and the stands were full for an announced crowd of 39,853 — and the first sellout of the season.
Colorado’s comeback kept rolling in Denver. Tyler Freeman’s sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning drove in the go-ahead run, and Cole Carrigg’s three RBIs powered the Colorado Rockies to a 8-6 rally win over the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox were up early. but Colorado dug in: after falling behind 3-0 after two innings and 6-3 after five. Freeman’s bunt along the first-base line scored Mickey Moniak once the game was tied at 6. Carrigg then capped the scoring with an RBI double. Carrigg also contributed in Colorado’s three-run seventh inning. where Jake McCarthy and Troy Johnston each delivered RBI singles to tie it at 6.
Antonio Senzatela struck out two in two perfect innings, and Jimmy Herget picked up his second save with a hitless ninth. Kyle Freeland allowed six runs and 11 hits as the Rockies fought their way back.
Boston got a jolt in the second when Connor Wong hit his first home run since Sept. 8, 2024, and Andruw Monasterio’s homer in the fourth stretched the advantage to 5-2. Willson Contreras and Anthony Seigler added one-run doubles for the Red Sox, who haven’t won back-to-back series since April 6-12.
In Miami. Otto López homered and Xavier Edwards added an RBI single in the fifth as the Marlins beat Texas. López’s two-run shot in the eighth off reliever Cole Winn lifted his major league-leading batting average to .340 and helped turn his 33rd multi-hit game into a closeout moment. Edwards snapped a 1-1 tie against Jacob deGrom (6-5) with his RBI. and Owen Caissie’s leadoff single plus Leo Jimenez’s walk set up the run-scoring sequence after both advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Edwards then hit a grounder to right that scored Caissie.
John King (5-1) pitched an inning of relief for the win, Anthony Bender and Michael Petersen combined for seven outs before Pete Fairbanks closed in the ninth with his 12th save after a Joc Pederson leadoff homer.
DeGrom struck out eight over six innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits and walking two, then ended his outing by striking out the side.
Elsewhere, the Cubs turned a doubleheader into a statement. In the first game. Dansby Swanson had a go-ahead RBI triple and four RBIs as Chicago swept the New York Mets. Swanson also hit a three-run homer and a grand slam in the opener; his 11 RBIs across the doubleheader were a franchise record. breaking the mark of 10 set by Ron Santo on July 6. 1970. In the second game. Pedro Ramirez had two RBIs. with Carson Kelly. Pete Crow-Armstrong. and Matt Shaw driving in one run apiece. Shota Imanaga (5-6) surrendered four runs over 5 1/3 innings.
At Anaheim, Los Angeles fought back to beat Baltimore in 10 innings. Nolan Schanuel reached third on an error. and Logan O’Hoppe drove him in on a soft ground ball in the 10th. It was the Halos’ 12th come-from-behind victory and their sixth walk-off win. Pinch-hitter Vaughn Grissom started the rally with an RBI single in the eighth. and Wade Meckler tied it with a two-run single. Pete Alonso answered with a 10th-inning RBI single to put the Orioles back in front. but Oswald Peraza scored on Schanuel’s soft grounder to tie after Keegan Akin mishandled the toss while covering first.
Cleveland needed help surviving its own late wobble. Khalil Watson singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th. and the Guardians held on after a ninth-inning collapse to beat Chicago. The game was delayed by rain for 2 hours and 40 minutes at the start. Watson singled to left off Grant Taylor (2-1) to score automatic runner Petey Halpin from third and tie the AL Central lead. Braden Montgomery and Randal Grichuk homered off Cade Smith with two outs in the ninth to tie it for Chicago; Smith had two of his three blown saves this season in this series. Shawn Armstrong (2-1) got the final out of the ninth and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 10th. Tanner Bibee threw six shutout innings. scattering three hits. and extended his streak of scoreless innings against the White Sox to 15.
New York’s night against Detroit had a different kind of hit parade. Paul Goldschmidt delivered two home runs. and Jasson Domínguez hit a go-ahead. two-run shot in the sixth inning off Tarik Skubal to lift the Yankees over the Tigers in a series-winning victory. Skubal (3-4) tied a career high by giving up three home runs. allowing that many in a game for the first time since 2021. and still didn’t walk a batter while striking out nine over six innings. Ryan Weathers (3-5) allowed two runs — one earned — on six hits and two walks while striking out six in six innings. Yerry De los Santos and Fernando Cruz combined for two innings of relief and David Bednar pitched the ninth for his 16th save.
Pittsburgh made the most of its offense early and often versus Seattle. Braxton Ashcraft pitched six strong innings. Endy Roriguez drove in three runs. and Ryan O’Hearn collected three hits to help the Pirates rout the Mariners. Ashcraft (7-3) struck out 10 without a walk while allowing one run and five hits. He became the first Pirates pitcher to have at least two starts in the same season with at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks since at least 1901.
Rodriguez’s two-run double opened scoring in a five-run fourth inning against Bryan Woo (6-6) as Pittsburgh went ahead 5-1. Rodriguez also singled in a run in a four-run seventh to push the lead to 9-1. Carmen Mlodzinski pitched four scoreless innings for his second save.
In St. Petersburg. Florida. Griffin Jax struck out seven over five innings. Yandy Díaz tied Tampa Bay’s franchise record for career RBIs. and the Rays beat Kansas City. Jax (3-5) allowed two unearned runs and five hits; it was his fourth straight start with at least five innings and fewer than two earned runs. Bryan Baker gave up a run in the ninth, but Pete Fairbanks closed with his 20th save.
Díaz hammered a line drive to left in the fourth to tie B.J. Upton’s franchise mark of 447 RBIs and give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead. Jonny DeLuca followed with an RBI double. Nick Fortes and Díaz opened scoring in the third when both scored after Royals first baseman Jac Caglianone fielded Ryan Vilade’s grounder and stepped on the bag for the out. but his throw home went wide of catcher Salvador Perez. Jonathan Aranda added a one-run single to put the Rays up 3-0. Noah Cameron (4-5) gave up all five runs on eight hits in five innings.
Houston’s late trick against Toronto came with a costly mistake. Joey Loperfido scored the tiebreaking run on Jeff Hoffman’s errant pickoff throw in the eighth as the Astros beat the Blue Jays for their sixth victory in eight games. Loperfido tripled off the center field wall with one out and scored when Hoffman’s pickoff throw sailed past third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. who was standing well wide of the base. Loperfido also beat his former team Tuesday with a tiebreaking home run in Houston’s 9-7 win.
Hoffman (5-5) lost for the first time since May 30 at Baltimore. Isaac Paredes had an RBI double in the first, and Jeremy Peña’s infield single scored an insurance run in the ninth, with Houston winning despite getting only four hits.
Philadelphia closed the gap in the late stages against Washington. Derek Hill hit a two-out. two-run pinch home run in the ninth to lift the Phillies past the Nationals. a comeback that arrived a night after Philadelphia scored an eight-run ninth inning in a 14-9 victory over Washington. Kyle Schwarber was out of the starting lineup with lower back tightness. but he pinch-hit with two outs and walked against Orlando Ribalta. Left-hander Richard Lovelady (2-4) came on, and Hill homered to right-center on a 1-2 pitch.
Brandon Marsh had three hits and entered the day 7 for 13 with two homers. three RBIs. and four runs in the series. Seth Johnson (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the victory. and Jhoan Duran struck out the side in the ninth for his 19th save. Washington earlier had taken a 4-3 lead in the sixth on a pinch two-run homer by Curtis Mead. Luis Garica Jr. and Jorbit Vivas also homered for the Nationals. with Garcia homering in his third consecutive game and Vivas connecting in his second straight. Aaron Nola gave up two runs on three hits in five innings.
Milwaukee completed another sweep at home. William Contreras and Jake Bauers hit back-to-back homers in the third inning. and Milwaukee beat Cincinnati to finish a three-game sweep. The Brewers improved to a season-high 20 games over .500 at 49-29 and have won 18 of the last 21 series against the Reds. Cincinnati (37-42) was swept at home for the first time since Aug. 16-18, 2024 against the Royals, snapping a 44 consecutive-series streak. The Reds loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against Joel Kuhnel. but Dane Myers grounded into an ending 6-4-3 double play.
Arizona’s offense broke open in a six-run fourth inning against St. Louis. LuJames Groover and Ketel Marte hit back-to-back home runs, and Tommy Troy went 2 for 5 with two RBIs. Mitch Bratt allowed one run and two hits and two walks in three innings as he became the first Canadian pitcher to make his major league debut with the Diamondbacks. Ryan Thompson (3-1) allowed one run on two hits in two innings in relief of Bratt.
José Fermín homered in the ninth for St. Louis. and rookie Blaze Jordan went 2 for 3 with three RBIs for his third multi-RBI game in 12 games since making his major league debut on June 12. Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (3-5) allowed six runs and eight hits with two walks in 5 1/3 innings and is 0-2 with a 10.34 ERA in four June starts.
MLB roundup Dodgers Twins Mookie Betts Shohei Ohtani Tanner Scott Joe Ryan Max Muncy Alex Call
So Betts got his 300th and they swept again. Baseball is wild.
Wait did Ohtani really just do all that in the 3rd inning? That’s crazy. Also Twins needed more than just “reachable” lol.
Betts hitting 300 is cool but didn’t the Twins basically give it away? Like if the lead was “reachable” then that means Minnesota had it, and then just choked. I dunno, 4-3 sounds close but also like Dodgers were just luckier.
Target Field sellout and still 4-3… kinda embarrassing for Minnesota. I didn’t even know Joe Ryan was pitching and then suddenly he’s getting dragged in the article. Also I saw somewhere else that Mookie was struggling lately so this feels like a total 180.