The Dodgers marked the 20th anniversary of their famous “4+1” comeback in fitting fashion Friday, turning a leadoff jolt and a four-homer eighth inning into an 8-2 home win over the Giants. Los Angeles had already wrapped up the National League West, but the club kept pressing for a first-round postseason bye—and perhaps the league’s top seed.
Key takeaways
- Mookie Betts opened the game with his 53rd career leadoff homer, including his 33rd as a Dodger.
- Betts finished with two home runs and reached 22 for the season after a two-run shot in the eighth.
- Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker began the eighth inning with consecutive home runs.
- Will Smith added another eighth-inning blast after Betts’ two-run drive.
- The 94-60 Dodgers stayed four games ahead of Atlanta for the NL’s second-best record.
A power surge with a little history behind it
Twenty years earlier, the Dodgers authored one of the wildest finishes in franchise history against the Padres during a tight NL West race. Trailing by four in the ninth, Los Angeles got a solo homer from Jeff Kent, then another from J.D. Drew. Russell Martin cut the deficit to one with a long ball, and Marlon Anderson completed the four-homer rally by tying the game.
San Diego pushed across a run in the 10th, only to see Nomar Garciaparra end it with a two-run homer in the bottom half. That sequence became known as the “4+1” game, a shorthand for a comeback that still carries weight around the club.
Friday’s game did not require that kind of late rescue. Betts set the tone quickly, sending the second pitch he faced over the fence. The Dodgers were already in control when the eighth arrived, then turned the inning into a celebration of their own long-ball history.
Muncy and Tucker went deep on consecutive pitches to start the frame. Josue De Paula drew a two-out walk, bringing Betts up for his second homer of the night, a two-run shot. Smith followed with another blast. It was the first time Los Angeles had produced two separate sets of back-to-back homers in the same inning since Aug. 22, 2016, at Cincinnati.
Postseason race remains in view
The division crown is secure, but the Dodgers still have plenty to play for over their final eight games. At 94-60, they held a four-game advantage over the 90-64 Braves in the chase for the National League’s No. 2 record and the accompanying first-round bye.
Los Angeles also remained two games behind the 96-58 Brewers for the best mark in both the NL and Major League Baseball. Should Milwaukee stay in front, the Dodgers need to finish at least one game ahead of Atlanta. The Braves own the tiebreaker after taking the season series.
For one night, though, the standings shared space with an old Dodgers memory: a leadoff homer, a late barrage of power, and a reminder that this club’s most memorable October-bound stretches have often come with the ball leaving the yard.
