Outhitting their opponent 13 to six, and out-homering them three to one, the Dodgers delivered a pretty comprehensive performance to secure a 9-5 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
Whenever a pitcher strikes out three to begin a game against the Dodgers, that catches your attention, given the level of hitters he’s facing. When Tanner Bibee did this to navigate a Freddie Freeman single in the first, it was even more impressive considering he’s struggles to rack up strikeouts this season. An inning later, though, something even more impressive happened: Max Muncy stole a base to help set up a two-run frame for the Dodgers, securing a lead they’d never relinquish.
For those who see him regularly, anything Shohei Ohtani does is impressive, but it almost doesn’t surprise you anymore, or at least not as much as it should. For a team like the Guardians with young pitchers who rarely face him, the potential for shock and awe is greater, and there was definitely a bit of that in this game. Opposite field home runs with a 39-degree launch angle are not things that happen, well, not unless you’re facing Shohei Ohtani. The rare player who can go deep to the opposite field and look like a pull-hitter doing so, Ohtani upped the Dodgers’ lead in the middle innings with his 20th homer of the year.
Shohei Ohtani, your MLB leader in homers with 20! pic.twitter.com/HEyWKBmreF
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 27, 2025
That homer is of extra significance, being Ohtani’s MLB-leading 20th of the season, ahead of last year’s pace in which he knocked 54 out of the park.
On the pitching side of things, Dustin May experienced great success at the beginning of the year before the struggles kicked in. Now the success has fluctuated, but the strikeouts are ticking up, with this performance against the Guardians being his third in a row with at least eight punchouts.
May’s ERA from this outing won’t be very generous because of a poorly timed mistake sinker right down the middle to Daniel Schneemann, who hit it out for a three-run shot. An extra poorly timed homer because it came right after the Dodgers took a 4-0 lead. Still, the three runs didn’t cost Los Angeles the lead, and it doesn’t necessarily reflect how well May pitched. In fact, that Schneeman homer was one of only two hard-hit balls that May in his five innings of work.
Following through on what he did against the Diamondbacks in his last start, May made full use of his arsenal, tossing 16 cutters and seven fastballs. One of those cutters proved very important in the first inning to punch out José Ramírez on the 11th pitch of an at-bat that could’ve dictated the rhythm of the game, had he gotten on to prolong that frame.
This game remained relatively close at 6-3 until the ninth inning, when Max Muncy got a hold of a high-heater and hit a three-run shot, driving in Ohtani and Betts, the latter who had just missed a homer himself.
Mad Max for three! pic.twitter.com/stkjjfTYFp
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 28, 2025
Speaking of homers, here’s to hoping Michael Conforto’s solo blast helps drive him out of this prolonged slump.
Game particulars
Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (20), Michael Conforto (3), Max Muncy (4), Daniel Schneemann (7)
WP — Dustin May (3-4): 5 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
LP — Tanner Bibee (4-5): 5 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Up next
Get your coffee pots on. One eye on the TV and one eye on the weather forecast as the Dodgers wrap up their road trip with an early game Thursday (10:10 a.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network) that has the chance of weather interference. Hopefully, Clayton Kershaw is able to finish his performance this time around, while the Guardians haven’t yet announced a scheduled starter.
