Freddie Freeman fell a homer shy of the cycle and drove in five runs as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers continued their dominance of the Cincinnati Reds, earning an 8-2 win Tuesday night.
Will Smith homered and drove in a pair for the Dodgers, who outhit Cincinnati 17-5. Los Angeles has gone a perfect 5-0 against the Reds this season, outscoring them 34-9.
Jonathan India homered and walked for the Reds, who have dropped five straight including the first four on their six-game homestand.
Starter Tony Gonsolin (9-0) came out after only five innings, allowing two runs on three hits. After a leadoff walk to India in third, the right-hander retired the final nine batters he faced before four Dodgers relievers combined to throw four scoreless innings.
Gonsolin allowed two home runs in a start for the first time in 13 starts but extended his personal win streak to 12 games dating back to his last loss on July 19, 2021, against San Francisco.
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first against Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle (2-6) on Smith’s two-out solo homer to left, his ninth of the season.
But the Reds responded immediately against Gonsolin when India connected on his first leadoff home run of the season and first overall, a line drive that stayed fair just inside the left-field foul pole to tie things at 1-1.
The Reds took the lead when Albert Almora Jr. homered to left-center field with two outs in the second.
That lead was short-lived, as the Dodgers took the lead for good on Freeman’s two-run double in the third inning.
Mahle labored through six innings on a hot and humid night in Cincinnati, allowing a season-high 12 hits and four runs while throwing 111 pitches.
Freeman, thrown out trying to stretch his third-inning double, had no such trouble with the bases loaded in the eighth when he drove a ball off the left-field wall against Luis Cessa. The three-run triple made it 7-2 before Freeman scored on Smith’s sacrifice fly for an 8-2 lead.
–Field Level Media