Dodgers’ late grand slam

Dalton Rushing turned a 3-1 game into an 8-2 Dodgers win with an eighth-inning grand slam against the New York Mets. (mlb.com) Rushing’s drive to center came on April 15 at Dodger Stadium and was his fourth home run of the 2026 season, according to Major League Baseball’s game coverage. Statcast measured it at 411 feet, with a 105.3 mile-per-hour exit velocity and a 33-degree launch angle. (mlb.com) The swing broke open what had been a two-run game in the bottom of the eighth and completed a three-game Dodgers sweep of the Mets. ESPN’s box score listed Los Angeles with 12 hits, four home runs and an attendance of 50,909. (mlb.com) (espn.com) Rushing was in the designated hitter spot because Shohei Ohtani started on the mound and did not bat, the first time he had pitched without also hitting since 2021. Ohtani struck out 10 over six innings and allowed one run as the Dodgers improved to 14-4. (mlb.com) (apnews.com) That made Rushing’s homer part of a larger Dodgers balancing act in mid-April: keep Ohtani’s pitching workload manageable while still covering the designated hitter at-bats with power. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts used Rushing in that role, and the rookie answered with the first grand slam of his Major League career. (mlb.com) Rushing had already shown that power earlier in the month. On April 6 in Toronto, he hit two solo home runs in a 14-2 Dodgers win over the Blue Jays. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) For the Mets, the loss extended a skid that early reports put at seven or eight games, depending on when the recap was published after midnight Eastern time. By the final scoreline, New York had fallen to 7-12 after Los Angeles outscored it 19-5 in the three-game series. (apnews.com) (espn.com) The game will be remembered for one late swing, but it also showed why the Dodgers value Rushing beyond a backup role: on a night when Ohtani only pitched, Los Angeles still got designated-hitter production that changed the score in one at-bat. (mlb.com)