CHICAGO — Maybe you can go home again. But Bobby Miller probably shouldn’t.
Pitching in his home state for the second time this season, Miller lasted just two innings and now has a 19.63 ERA in Illinois (one start each at Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field). But Shohei Ohtani’s hot streak apparently knows no borders. He hit another home run and drove in the go-ahead run as the Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3, Tuesday night.
Miller’s early departure turned Tuesday into an impromptu bullpen game and the Dodgers’ relievers responded. It was a roll call of nearly everyone who rode the team bus to the South Side. Michael Petersen, Yohan Ramirez, Anthony Banda, Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and Evan Phillips stranded seven baserunners in seven scoreless innings, holding the White Sox hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position while protecting the one-run lead from the fourth inning on.
Dodgers relievers have not given up a run in 13 innings over their past three games.
Miller’s returns to Chicago (he gave up five runs and didn’t make it through two innings against the Cubs earlier this season) have been tough to watch. And his return from this season’s shoulder injury hasn’t been pretty either.
After posting a 7.80 ERA with nearly as many walks (eight) as strikeouts (10) in four minor-league rehab starts, Miller returned to the Dodgers’ rotation in Colorado last week and gave up three runs including a two-run home run in his first inning against the Rockies. He stuck around into the seventh but gave up two more runs before departing.
Against the White Sox, the same first-inning formula repeated. The first four White Sox batters reached base. Two scored on a home run by Andrew Benintendi, another on Eloy Jimenez’s RBI double.
Miller (who grew up about 50 miles north of Chicago near the Wisconsin border) gave up another hit and walked consecutive batters with two outs in the second inning, puffing up his pitch count to 60 and prompting Manager Dave Roberts to start the parade of relievers.
Ohtani led off the game with a home run – with an assist to White Sox right fielder Tommy Pham. Pham jumped at the wall to try and snag Ohtani’s drive and the ball went off his glove then over the wall, confusing Ohtani who rounded first (bat in hand) and had to retreat to make sure he tagged the base.
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The home run was Ohtani’s 24th of the season, the seventh in his past nine games and fourth in the past five. It was the second time he led off a game with a homer since replacing the injured Mookie Betts in the leadoff spot. And it was his ninth consecutive game with an RBI, tying a franchise record done most recently by Roy Campanella in 1955.
Ohtani walked to start the third inning and scored on Freddie Freeman’s two-run, opposite-field home run.
That tied the score and the Dodgers regained the lead in the fourth inning against White Sox starter Chris Flexen. Gavin Lux drew a one-out walk and went to third base on Miguel Vargas’ single. After Cavan Biggio flew out to shallow left field, Ohtani stroked a two-out single into right field to drive in the go-ahead run.
Over his past nine games (eight as the leadoff hitter), Ohtani is 15 for 34 (.441) with three doubles, seven home runs, nine walks, 16 RBIs and 12 runs scored. He has six multi-hit games during this tear, only one hitless game with at least one extra-base hit and a run scored in eight of the nine games.
More to come on this story.