Dodgers Erase Two-Run Deficit in Third, Steal 4-3 Win
Los Angeles scored three runs in the third inning to wipe out a 3-1 Minnesota lead and walked away with a 4-3 victory on June 24. The story of the night was a chaotic second inning that handed the Twins a lead — and a Dodgers lineup that took exactly one inning to rip it away.
Mookie Betts gave Los Angeles the first punch, homering 399 feet to left center in the second inning to put the Dodgers up 1-0. Minnesota answered immediately and then some. A passed ball by the LAD catcher allowed Caratini to score and tied the game at 1, and then Ryan Kreidler singled to center, scoring both Lee and Gray to push Minnesota to a 3-1 lead — the biggest win-probability swing of the night, moving the Twins' home win percentage from 43% to 64%. Kreidler was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double, which, in hindsight, looks like the moment Minnesota's window started closing.
The Dodgers didn't flinch. In the third, Ohtani singled to center to score Freeland and cut it to 3-2. Muncy followed with a single to right, scoring Ohtani and tying the game at 3, with Betts moving to second and Freeman to third. Then a sacrifice fly to right by Call scored Freeman, and just like that Los Angeles led 4-3. Three batters, three runs, game flipped. The Dodgers' lineup appears to operate with a particular kind of institutional calm — fall behind, reload, strike.
On the mound, Ohtani went 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 8 and walking 2 — a quality start by any measure, and arguably the performance that kept Los Angeles in position to come back. Joe Ryan matched him with 6.0 innings for Minnesota, but surrendered 8 hits and 4 earned runs against 9 strikeouts — the kind of line that looks dominant until you check the score. Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott handled the final two innings for the Dodgers, combining for 5 strikeouts, 3 hits, and zero earned runs to lock it down. Betts finished 3-for-4 with the home run and an RBI. Freeman went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Muncy added 2-for-4 with an RBI. Minnesota got 2 RBI from Kreidler and 2 hits from Caratini, but it wasn't enough once the Dodgers got their footing in the third.