WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Dodgers have some organizational familiarity with Sutter Health Park, as the temporary home of the A's is one of the Pacific Coast League destinations for L.A.'s Triple-A affiliate. So they came into Monday night with a loose idea of what to expect before playing their first big league contest at the ballpark.
"If you are behind, keep going," manager Dave Roberts said before the game. "I’m not saying it’s Denver, but the ball does carry.”
That proved true for both sides, but it was the Dodgers who came out on top, riding a trio of long balls from Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Shohei Ohtani to a series-opening 9-4 win over the A's. Starter Eric Lauer surrendered a homer of his own as one of a season-high nine hits, but was still able to provide a quality start.
L.A. struck first in the second inning against A's starter Gage Jump. Teoscar Hernández provided a jolt in his return from a strained left hamstring, beating out an infield single and going first to third on a Kyle Tucker sun ball before scoring on a Muncy single. Dalton Rushing drove in Tucker to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
But in the bottom of the second, the A's surged ahead by one run. Lauer surrendered a solo shot to Colby Thomas to open the inning, then gave up another two runs on three singles and a forceout. The southpaw continued to labor through a third inning in which he stranded the bases loaded, but his pitch count swelled to 59 pitches.
After falling behind, the Dodgers kept going, just as their skipper had said earlier. Muncy -- not to be confused with the A's Max Muncy, who also hit seventh and played third base -- led off the fourth inning with a solo home run off Jump, the first long ball the rookie left-hander has surrendered in the Majors. Pages put L.A. back on top with a two-run blast off Jump later that inning, reclaiming the National League RBI lead with his 59th and 60th of the season.
For good measure, Ohtani added on with his 18th homer of the year in the sixth inning, a three-run blast off Matt Krook that landed high up on the berm in right field. The Statcast-projected 432-foot shot was his second-longest home run this season, second only to his 438-footer on April 5.
Meanwhile, Lauer settled down to retire nine of the 11 batters he faced across his final three innings. L.A. has won all six of his appearances (five starts) as a Dodger.