The Dodgers turned the game into a runaway before most of the crowd had settled in, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the first inning against the Angels before going on to win 9-2. The outburst erased an early RBI triple from Angels shortstop Oswald Peraza and gave Los Angeles a lead that never felt in doubt again.
That first inning stood out even in a season filled with big offensive numbers. It was the Dodgers’ highest-scoring frame of 2026, and it matched the biggest first inning in Major League Baseball since the Pirates scored nine against the Rockies at Coors Field on Aug. 1, 2025.
Fast start changes everything
Shohei Ohtani opened the inning with a hustle single, and Andy Pages quickly turned that into an immediate response. He drove an 89.6 mph changeup from Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz deep to left field for a two-run homer that landed in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
The play added more than two runs to the board. It also brought a quick emotional swing, as reliever Blake Treinen caught the ball in midair while bullpen teammates celebrated behind him.
Manager Dave Roberts said the homer helped settle the game early. “The homer by Andy to answer back was big,” Roberts said. “Kind of put to bed any type of momentum they had in the top of the first.”
The rally kept building
The Dodgers did not slow down after Pages’ home run. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts followed with back-to-back singles, and both moved up on a wild pitch before Max Muncy reached when Kochanowicz could not handle a comebacker.
Ryan Ward then drove in two runs with a line-drive double to center, continuing a productive stretch since his promotion on May 29. Roberts praised the young hitter’s approach and confidence, noting that Ward looked relaxed and ready in key spots.
That sequence also reflected the Dodgers’ broader lineup depth. With Teoscar Hernández out, Ward helped fill the gap by giving the club another bat that could turn traffic on the bases into runs.
Angels lose control of the inning
The pressure on Kochanowicz continued to mount, and the Angels brought in Brent Suter after a walk to Dalton Rushing. The move did not stop the damage, because Alex Freeland then rolled a grounder to shortstop Zach Neto, whose throwing error allowed Muncy, Ward and Rushing to score.
Roberts pointed to the value of extra outs in games like this. “You can’t give good teams extra outs,” he said, adding that Los Angeles became “a lot more opportunistic” by forcing the Angels deeper into the bullpen early.
Ohtani finished the frame with another impact swing. With the Dodgers already up by six, he crushed an 89.9 mph sinker to center field for a two-run homer, his 11th of the season, and completed an 11-batter stretch that defined the night.
A rare kind of opening inning
A nine-run first inning does not happen often, even for an offense with the Dodgers’ firepower. It was the club’s biggest inning of the season and one of the most explosive opening frames in recent memory, leaving the Angels chasing the game almost immediately.
Los Angeles did not score again after the first, but the damage was already decisive. The early cushion let Roberts manage the rest of the game with an eye on rest, including removing Freeman in the fourth inning for pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas.
“We went dormant after that,” Roberts said. “But I just thought it was great the way we answered in that first inning, and allowing us to get Freddie off of his feet for more than half the game, I thought, was good.”
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