Dodgers storm back in ninth for wild walk-off win over Orioles

Friday night should not have required late dramatics for the Dodgers.But boy, what a finish it created.After leading by three runs early, then trailing by two runs entering the ninth, the Dodgers rallied for a stunning 6-5 walk-off win over the Baltimore Orioles in Los Angeles, with the game ending on an RBI single from Dalton Rushing that was punctuated by a wild throw to the plate that trickled into the Dodgers’ dugout to walk off the game.Really, the game never should have been that close.The Dodgers jumped to an early 3-0 lead through two innings.

They had loaded the bases with no outs in the third.And they had gotten five scoreless, and nearly hitless, frames out of starting pitcher Roki Sasaki.But every time they could have pulled away, they let the Orioles hang around.In the third, the Dodgers left the bases loaded with three-straight strikeouts from the bottom of the batting order.

In the sixth, they watched Sasaki implode in a two-batter sequence with two outs, with the young right-hander giving up back-to-back home runs that tied the game.And in the seventh, they let Baltimore surge in front, with Jeremiah Jackson punching a bases-loaded, two-run, go-ahead single through the infield to give the Orioles their first lead of the night.The score remained 5-3 until the ninth, when Mookie Betts belted a solo home run off Orioles closer Ryan Helsley for his third hit of the game.Then, the real drama began, with Max Muncy and Ryan Ward each drawing a walk to put the tying and winning runs aboard.Up came Rushing, who was previously 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, including one on a low slider in the squandered third-inning chance.Rushing went chasing a low slider again in the ninth to fall into an 0-2 hole to Helsey.

But after taking a high slider, the backstop finally got a fastball in the zone, lining it to right for a single that got pinch-runner Alex Call home from second. As Call crossed the plate, Baltimore right fielder Tyler O’Neill launched a throw ...