Dalton Rushing flushes a nightmare night, delivers walk-off moment

LOS ANGELES — Dalton Rushing spent most of Friday night searching for answers.

By the time the ninth inning arrived, Rushing had already struck out three times. His latest at-bat included an ugly 0-2 swing decision that only added to what was shaping up to be a frustrating evening.

Then the game found him one more time.

And Rushing delivered.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, runners on first and second, and the Dodgers trailing the Orioles by one run, Rushing lined a single into right field. Alex Call raced home to tie the game, sending Dodger Stadium into a frenzy. Moments later, the throw from Orioles right fielder Leody Taveras skipped away from catcher Samuel Basallo, allowing Ryan Ward to score the winning run as the Dodgers completed a stunning 6-5 comeback victory.

For Rushing, it was the first walk-off moment of his young major league career.

"First one as a Dodger, it was pretty special," Rushing said. "It was good to give Freddie a night from being the guy in the middle for a change."

The Dodgers clubhouse celebrated another comeback victory, but few appreciated the moment more than Dave Roberts, who watched his catcher completely flip the narrative of his night.

"The game's on the line and it's your spot," Roberts said. "For him to flush it all and flip his entire game and help us win a game, was huge."

The walk-off capped a remarkable turnaround for both Rushing and the Dodgers.

Just an inning earlier, it appeared the Orioles had control.

After leading 3-0 through five innings, the Dodgers watched Baltimore erase the deficit in the sixth inning on back-to-back home runs. Gunnar Henderson launched a two-run shot to right before Pete Alonso followed with a game-tying blast moments later.

An inning later, Baltimore struck again.

Will Klein inherited traffic on the bases and couldn't escape trouble. After a walk loaded the bases, Jeremiah Jackson punched a two-run single through the right side against the shift, giving the Orioles a 5-3 lead and silencing much of the crowd.

For a team that had squandered a golden opportunity earlier in the game, loading the bases with nobody out in the third inning and failing to score, the comeback seemed unlikely.

Then Mookie Betts stepped to the plate.

On his bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, Betts delivered the spark the Dodgers desperately needed. With one out in the ninth inning, he crushed a solo home run to left-center field, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

The homer was the 299th of Betts' career and continued what has been an encouraging stretch for the former MVP. Over his last seven games, Betts is hitting .357/.379/.643, and on Friday he finished 3-for-5.

The blast changed the atmosphere instantly. Suddenly, the Dodgers believed.

Call kept the inning alive. Ward followed. And eventually the game landed in Rushing's hands.

A few pitches after falling behind 0-2, Rushing battled back and shot a line drive into right field. The Dodgers had their 49th win of the season.

"We're just stacking wins," Roberts said.

Lost amid the late-game drama was another encouraging start from Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki looked dominant for much of the night, carrying a shutout into the sixth inning before Henderson and Alonso connected on consecutive home runs. Sasaki finished with 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, three runs, one walk and striking out six on 90 pitches.

"I was making my pitches really well," Sasaki said. "I was executing my pitches really good, so I was able to do what I wanted to do."

Despite the pair of home runs, Roberts was impressed.

"He was fantastic," Roberts said.

The Dodgers had built their early lead behind timely offense. Kyle Tucker, leading off in place of Shohei Ohtani, who is on paternity leave, started the first inning with a walk. Betts followed with a bloop double before Max Muncy delivered a two-run single to right field.

An inning later, Alex Freeland scored on one of the stranger plays of the season. Andy Pages doubled into left field and Freeland found himself caught between stopping at third and continuing home. After a brief moment of confusion, third base coach Dino Ebel waved him in, and Freeland slid across the plate safely following an unsuccessful Orioles challenge.

Those runs appeared enough for most of the night.

Until they weren't. Until Betts launched No. 299. Until Rushing got one more chance.

Baseball has a way of testing young players. Sometimes it gives them failure after failure before offering an opportunity to respond.

Friday night, Rushing got that opportunity. One swing erased three strikeouts. One swing erased a frustrating night.

One swing delivered his first walk-off as a Dodger and another comeback victory for a team that continues to find ways to win.