MINNEAPOLIS — They don’t homer, they don’t win.
That’s normally the case for the Dodgers.
Tuesday was an exception.
In their 12-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins, the Dodgers built their lead in unorthodox fashion.
They piled up hits.
Of their 17 hits, only one was a home run and it didn’t come until the ninth inning when Alex Call launched a sinker by reliever Taylor Rogers over the left-field wall at Target Field.
How unusual was this?
The Dodgers are 7-17 in games in which they don’t homer.
In games they do?
They’re 44-12.
Freddie Freeman led the Dodgers’ balanced attack, as he was 3-for-4 with a walk and was involved in the team scoring in three separate innings.
Freeman doubled in the third inning and scored when Tommy Edman reached base on a throwing error by Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall. The run tied the game at 2-2.
A single by Freeman drove in the second of the three runs the Dodgers scored in the fourth inning to move in front, 5-2.
Freeman doubled again in the sixth inning to drive in Andy Pages and extend the Dodgers’ lead to 6-2.
Justin Wrobleski provided the majority of the pitching, limiting the Twins to two runs and five hits over seven innings. Wrobleski improved his record to a team-best 9-2 and lowered his earned-run average to 2.71.
What it means
The Dodgers’ record of 51-29 is the best record in baseball.
Last year, the Dodgers finished the regular season with the third-best record in the NL, which complicated their World Series title defense.
Because they weren’t one of the two NL teams to receive a first-round bye, they had to play the Cincinnati Reds in a best-of-three wild-card round. In each of the next three rounds of the postseason, including the World Series, their opponents had home-field advantage.
This year, they could do what they did in 2024 when they enjoyed a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Who’s hot
Journeyman Chuckie Robinson started at catcher in place of Dalton Rushing, who was tested before the game to rule out a concussion.
Robinson entered the game 0 for 11 on the season.
His fourth-inning single was his first hit in the major leagues since Sept. 14, 2024. He finished the game 2 for 4 with a run scored and a run batted in, making this his first multi-hit game since Oct. 4, 2022.
The series marks a homecoming for outfielder Alex Call, who grew up about 40 minutes away in River Falls, Wisc.
With Kyle Tucker sidelined with back spasms, Call was 2-for-4 with a homer, two walks and three runs. In the series opener on Monday, Call pinch-ran for Tucker in the second inning and went on to collect two hits in that game.
Who’s not
The Twins remain within striking distance of a wild-card spot, but they might as well be sellers at the trade deadline. Even if they reach the postseason by some miracle, they simply don’t have the team to compete in October. Their bullpen is terrible, and based on their performance so far in this series, their lineup can’t do anything against half-decent pitching. In their two games against the Dodgers, the Twins have scored only three runs.
Up next
The Dodgers will close out their three-game series against the Twins on Wednesday. Shohei Ohtani (7-2, 1.47 ERA) will start for the Dodgers and take on All-Star Joe Ryan (5-3, 2.99 ERA). who had his start pushed back by a day because of illness.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
