The Houston Astros earned a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday at Dodger Stadium, with Yainer Diaz providing a key home run and Josh Hader collecting his major league-leading 25th save. The game coincided with Shohei Ohtani’s 31st birthday and featured his fourth mound appearance of the season as he continues his recovery from elbow surgery.
Ohtani, the Dodgers’ two-way star, opened the game with two scoreless innings and recorded three strikeouts in the second inning alone. His fastball topped out near triple digits, and his command showed promise in his limited outing. After completing his scheduled two innings, left-hander Justin Wrobleski entered in relief but struggled immediately.
In the top of the third, Houston mounted a four-run rally. The frame was highlighted by Zack Short’s two-run double, which came after the Dodgers issued a walk and allowed a single. Wrobleski (4-3), who took the loss, was unable to stop the momentum as the Astros capitalized on the opportunity. Diaz extended the lead with a solo home run in the fourth inning, marking his 11th of the season and giving Houston a 5-1 cushion.
The Dodgers began to claw back in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Miguel Rojas hit a two-run homer to trim the lead to 5-4, after Mookie Betts had already contributed with a solo home run in the first inning, his 11th of the year. Despite the surge, the Astros’ pitching staff prevented further damage.
Houston added an insurance run in the seventh when José Altuve led off the inning with a triple and later scored on a sacrifice fly. That run proved critical, as the Dodgers threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning.
With two runners aboard and two outs in the eighth, Astros manager Joe Espada turned to closer Josh Hader for a four-out save. Hader struck out pinch-hitter Esteury Ruiz to end the frame and then allowed a leadoff single to Ohtani in the ninth. Unfazed, the veteran left-hander retired Betts, Will Smith, and Freddie Freeman in order to lock down the win.
Framber Valdez (10-4) started for the Astros and pitched six innings, striking out seven while surrendering four runs. His effort improved his record to double-digit wins on the season. Houston’s bullpen provided three scoreless innings, combining with Valdez and Hader to contain a Dodgers lineup that had been explosive in prior games.
The Dodgers, who entered the game as slight favorites at -120 according to pregame betting odds, were unable to sustain the momentum from their early offensive success. Ohtani finished 1-for-4 with a single in the ninth but was otherwise quiet at the plate.
With the win, Houston continued its dominant stretch, having scored 24 runs across the first two games of the series. The Dodgers will look to avoid a sweep in Sunday’s finale, where Ryan Gusto (5-3, 4.90 ERA) is scheduled to start for Houston and Emmet Sheehan (0-0, 2.25 ERA) is expected to take the mound for Los Angeles.