LOS ANGELES -- If you tuned into the game just 15 minutes late on Saturday, you probably thought your screen was glitching. A 9-1 scoreline is the kind of lopsided margin that usually takes a full night of offense to build -- but the Dodgers delivered that exact cushion in the bottom of the first inning alone.
The brief flash of early trouble -- an RBI triple by the Angels' Oswald Peraza in the top half of the frame -- was instantly rendered a footnote. By the time the Dodgers finally traded their bats for gloves for the second inning, they had completely altered the trajectory of the night, ultimately going on to win, 9-2.
The nine-run outburst marked the highest-scoring frame for the Dodgers in 2026, surpassing a six-run inning against the Cubs on April 25.
It also represented the single biggest first inning across Major League Baseball since Aug. 1, 2025, when the Pirates put up nine runs in the opening frame against the Rockies at Coors Field. To find a more prolific first inning in recent franchise history, fans would have to look back to June 2, 2021, when the Dodgers hung 11 runs on the Cardinals.
The sequence began with Shohei Ohtani legging out a leadoff infield single. Andy Pages then locked onto an 89.6 mph changeup from Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz, launching a towering two-run fly ball that sailed deep into left field and plunged straight into the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Waiting beneath it was reliever Blake Treinen, who tracked the flight and made a clean catch in midair. The grab sent his fellow bullpen members into a frenzy, with pitchers and staff jumping up and down in an impromptu celebration circle while Pages rounded the bases.
The momentum only snowballed from there.
Freddie Freeman followed with a sharp single to left field, and Mookie Betts kept the traffic moving with a line-drive single of his own. After a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Max Muncy reached on with a comebacker that Kochanowicz couldn’t handle. Ryan Ward quickly capitalized by hammering a line-drive double to center field, bringing Freeman and Betts home.
The mounting pressure broke the Angels' defensive composure. Following a walk to Dalton Rushing, the Angels brought in reliever Brent Suter. Instead of halting the rally, Alex Freeland pushed a grounder to shortstop Zach Neto, whose throwing error allowed Muncy, Ward and Rushing to all cross the plate.
His team staked to a six-run lead, Ohtani stepped back into the batter's box to put an exclamation point on the frame.
He caught a 89.9 mph sinker on the inner half, drilling a two-run shot deep into center field for his 11th home run of the season.
Ohtani's second hit of the inning accounted for the final runs of an offensive stretch that saw 11 Dodgers come to the plate.