LOS ANGELES (May 14) \u2014 A pair of middle-inning runs gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a one-run lead over the visiting Athletics, and a five-inning outburst in the eighth put the game away, giving the Dodgers a 9\u20133 victory Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. Home runs from Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, Andy Pages<\/a>, and Hyeseong Kim<\/a> off rookie Athletics starter Gunnar Hoglund<\/a> gave the Dodgers their first three runs of the evening.<\/p>\n Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a> lasted six innings, allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Athletics rookie starting pitcher Gunnar Hoglund narrowly missed a Quality Start himself, allowing four runs on seven hits across 5 1\/3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt good,\u201d Hoglund said. \u201cFelt like my stuff was there, but I made some mistakes out over the middle of the plate. Against this lineup, you can\u2019t do that. They made me pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of infield hits and three solo homers against a really solid lineup \u2014 I thought he handled it pretty well,\u201d Athletics manager Mark Kotsay<\/a> said of Hoglund. \u201cHe managed the game and kept us in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohtani opened the scoring with his homer in the bottom of the first, his 17th career leadoff home run. Pages smacked his homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the second, giving the Dodgers a 2\u20130 lead. Tyler Soderstrom<\/a> \u2014 the only Athletics batter to go hitless in the first game \u2014 tied the game with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the third. \u201cOn the first pitch, I recognized it was a curveball up,\u201d Soderstrom said. \u201cI waited back and put a good swing on it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Athletics pulled ahead in the top of the fourth on a Miguel Andujar<\/a> double. Catcher Shea Langeliers<\/a> scored from first on the play, the second consecutive night he scored from first on a double.<\/p>\n Dodgers rookie Hyeseong Kim led off the bottom of the fifth with his first career homer, tying the game at three. One inning later, Miguel Rojas<\/a> \u2014 pinch-hitting for Kim \u2014 cracked a go-ahead double to center, scoring Michael Conforto<\/a> from first.<\/p>\n They put the game away in the eighth off reliever Tyler Ferguson<\/a>. Ferguson uncharacteristically yielded five earned runs thanks to a two-run double by Mookie Betts<\/a> and a towering three-run homer by Max Muncy<\/a>. Ben Casparius<\/a> finished the Athletics off with a six-pitch 1\u20132\u20133 ninth.<\/p>\n Michel Otanez<\/a>, activated before Tuesday\u2019s game, made his first appearance of the season Wednesday night. He inherited a mess, entering the game in the bottom of the sixth with two outs, runners on the corners, and Betts at the plate. Ota\u00f1ez induced an inning-ending fly to right and followed with a scoreless seventh.<\/p>\n Soderstrom was the only Athletic to wear the oh-fer collar in Tuesday\u2019s blowout win. He bounced back Wednesday night, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two RBI. \u201cIt felt great,\u201d Soderstrom said of his performance Wednesday. \u201cI had a tough night last night and started off this game with a punchy (strikeout). Went with a different mindset, wiped it, and kept going.\u201d<\/p>\n The different mindset Soderstrom went with came down to confidence. \u201cYou can\u2019t get yourself down,\u201d he explained. \u201cThis game is really hard. There was a great pitcher out there. I had to stick with what I do, and it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n The Athletics were fully in this game until the five-run bottom of the eighth. This game was closer than the final score made it seem. \u201cUp until the eighth inning,\u201d Kotsay said, \u201cthis was a baseball game. The result of 9\u20133 makes it look like a really lopsided game, but outside that one inning, we were in this ballgame and had a chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n All three home runs yielded by the Athletics came to lead off an inning.<\/p>\n Pages went 3-for-4 with a walk and a home run.<\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, it is unusual for Ferguson to give up five runs in an inning. The two-run Betts double and three-run Muncy homer were daggers to the Athletics\u2019 comeback hopes. Kotsay said of Ferguson\u2019s night, \u201cJust a little bit of lack of command. He normally can keep the ball down in the zone. I thought it was a little elevated tonight. So yeah, that\u2019s unusual for him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe pushed him a bit last week, pretty hard, and it was maybe a sign of that. But he\u2019s a big, strong guy and big reliever. He\u2019s going to be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Soderstrom\u2019s home run, his 10th of the season, was his first since April 17. \u2026 After going a combined 0-for-9 Tuesday night, the Dodgers\u2019 future Hall-of-Fame trio of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman<\/a> had at least one hit each. They combined to go 4-for-13 with two walks, a double, a home run, and three RBI.<\/p>\n Yamamoto (5\u20133, 2.12 ERA) earned the win after a Quality Start. Hoglund (1\u20131, 3.78 ERA) took the loss. There was no save.<\/p>\n The Athletics (22\u201321) and Dodgers (28\u201315) will conclude their three-game series Thursday night. It will be a battle of right-handers, Osvaldo Bido<\/a> (2\u20133, 4.75 ERA) for the Athletics and Matt Sauer<\/a> (1\u20130, 1.54 ERA) for the Dodgers in a \u201cbullpen game.\u201d<\/p>\nAthletics \u2013 Dodgers Game Summary<\/h3>\n
What Went Right for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
Ota\u00f1ez Putting Out a Fire<\/h4>\n
Tyler Soderstrom Bounceback<\/h4>\n
Game Was Closer than the Score Made It Seem<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
The Leadoff Home Runs<\/h4>\n
Andy Pages<\/h4>\n
Rough Eighth Inning<\/h4>\n
Quick Hits<\/h3>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n