The table toppers, the Dodgers and Astros, gathered in Los Angeles, where fireworks were expected. And the game did deliver… While the Dodgers’ bats were quiet, an unusual catch that sent Shohei Ohtani back to the dugout became the talk of the town.
The Astros got off to a fast start, going up 6–1 by the bottom of the third inning. Dodgerland waited for their hero. And Shohei Ohtani threw a blazing liner at the mound that looked like a spark, but soon it changed.
Lance McCullers Jr. threw an 84mph fastball, and Ohtani clicked it. But it went straight, hit McCullers’ foot, and got tossed in the air. Astros SS Mauricio Dubon swooped in and caught it in mid-air. Before anyone could completely understand what was going on, Ohtani was declared out. Even though he got to first, the call was changed because the ball never hit the ground. A strange catch that left everyone scratching their heads.
Wild play. Ohtani hits a ball off of McCullers’ foot, Dubon catches it and is out.
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— James¹⁷¹⁸ (@ShotimeLAD) July 5, 2025
Even after that, Shohei Ohtani couldn’t get his swing going on Friday night. He went 0-for-3 with three at-bats, no hits, one walk, and one strikeout. Houston’s pitching kept his bat quiet.
The Houston Astros scored 18 runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the most ever at Dodger Stadium. Isaac Paredes hit a home run on the first pitch to set the tone. And then, Jose Altuve and Christian Walker homered in the third inning. Lance McCullers Jr. pitched six innings, allowing one run and four strikeouts. He maintained composure and limited the Dodgers’ powerhouses Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman to two singles and three strikeouts.
Then came the sixth inning. Victor Caratini’s grand slam started a remarkable 10-run inning, the most the Dodgers have given up since 1999. This led to an avalanche that capped the blowout. Altuve hit another home run, and Walker extended his home run streak at Dodger Stadium to six games.
On the contrary, the Dodgers only got one home run from Will Smith. And just like that, the Astros outplayed them, winning by 18-1. Soon after the game, Dave Roberts mentioned, “Yeah, that was one you want to flush as soon as possible.”
Friday, the magic from the Boys in Blue was missing from the diamond.
Dodgers crumble along with Ohtani: Astros serve up franchise-worst defeat
The Astros made Dodger Stadium their highlight reel by beating the Dodgers’ pitching staff over and over again. Ben Casparius, the starting pitcher, fell apart under pressure. With an 8.24 ERA over his last five starts, he gave up six runs in just three innings.
And when reliever Noah Davis came in, things got even worse. He allowed 10 runs in the sixth inning, the most the Dodgers have given up in a single inning since 1999. Even though Clayton Kershaw was great earlier this week, it didn’t matter. And it was not just the pitching, but the bats also struggled.
Mookie Betts’ well-hit balls became routine outs. Teoscar Hernández couldn’t handle the pressure and failed to come through in crucial situations. Neither of them could get things going.
In this game, it felt like everything that could have gone wrong did. The starting pitching fell apart, the relief corps flopped, the offense was nonexistent, and the dugout was left in disbelief.
Now, as the team preps for Game 2 on July 6, they would surely want to let go of this humiliating past as soon as possible.
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