Báez's 10th-Inning Double Buries LAD as STL Rallies for 8-6 Win
St. Louis erased a five-run deficit and then blew the game open with a three-run 10th inning, stunning Los Angeles 8-6. Joshua Báez's two-run double to left — the single most decisive swing of the night — sent the home win probability crashing from 27% to 6%.
Freddie Freeman made sure the early story belonged to Los Angeles. In the first, he launched a 416-foot shot to center that plated Ohtani and Edman, putting the Dodgers up 3-0 before St. Louis had done anything. Gordon Graceffo was sharp — 6 strikeouts across 3 innings without allowing a run — but the Cardinals were staring at a hole. Then the sixth inning happened. Thomas Saggese hit a 396-foot homer to center to make it 2-3, and it looked like momentum might be shifting. Mookie Betts answered immediately with a 392-foot shot to left center that scored Edman and pushed the lead back to 5-2. Back-to-back swings, back-to-back answers. That's the kind of game this was.
St. Louis refused to fold. Leo Bernal hit a 377-foot homer to right center in the seventh, scoring Walker and cutting it to 4-5. Then in the eighth, Burleson hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Báez and tied the game at five. Four home runs, a sac fly, and suddenly a game that looked like a comfortable Dodgers win was completely level. Yoshinobu Yamamoto had gone 7 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 5 hits with 8 strikeouts — a strong outing that, on most nights, would be enough. This was not most nights.
The 10th inning is where St. Louis took the game away for good. Saggese reached on an infield single to second, scoring Fermín and moving Church to second — Cardinals up 6-5. Then Báez doubled to left, scoring both Saggese and Church, and that was the ballgame in everything but formality. The home win probability swung from 27% to 6% on that one swing. Los Angeles got a consolation run when Edman grounded out to shortstop and Smith scored, making it 8-6, but the Cardinals weren't giving anything else back. Saggese finished 2-for-4 with a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored — the story of the night on the offensive side. Báez went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI and a run scored without ever coming close to making an out. Los Angeles had the lead, the ace, and the crowd. St. Louis had the last word.