LOS ANGELES — On a night when both Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman were receiving treatment, the remaining members of the Dodgers’ offense were giving the Cincinnati Reds the business.
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Ohtani was out for the sixth time in seven games because of left knee and right arm discomfort. Freeman was out with his own ankle discomfort after he served as the designated hitter on Tuesday and had another day off Friday.
The Dodgers then delivered the pain with a 14-1 victory over the Reds as Mookie Betts hit his third home run in seven games, while Teoscar Hernandez had a two-run single for a career-high seven-game RBI streak. They hit four home runs, with three in the final four innings.
Emboldened with a much-improved offense, multiple reports indicated the Dodgers are now set to recall top outfield prospect Josue De Paula from Double-A Tulsa. Expected to arrive in time for Friday’s series opener in Miami, the 21-year-old brings with him 26 home runs this season, 36 doubles and 101 RBIs.
On the mound Wednesday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto recovered from his worst start since the All-Star break to give up one run on three hits over seven innings with 10 strikeouts. His only blemish felt unavoidable.
Elly De La Cruz tagged Yamamoto with a fourth-inning home run to extend his homer streak to five consecutive games.
De La Cruz departed the series with a career-high 26 home runs this season. The Dodgers wrapped it up with a sweep while extending their winning streak to a season-high seven games.
The rare laugher was a reprieve for the Dodgers, who had three one-run victories in the previous six games and a pair of two-run wins. Before the win streak, they had lost six of their previous eight games.
The was no sign of what was ahead when the Dodgers traded two outs for a run in the second inning on Alex Freeland’s double play grounder.
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Betts raised the stakes with a two-run home run in the third inning, the first of his three hits on the night.
De La Cruz got a run back for the Reds in the fourth with a 403-foot line-drive home run to center field that was 106.7 mph off the bat.
The Dodgers’ reply was emphatic. Freeland started a six-run fourth inning with an RBI double. Kiké Hernandez added a two-run double and scored on a wild pitch. Teoscar Hernandez continued to deliver with a two-run single for a 9-1 lead.
There were two more runs in the sixth on a home run from Max Muncy, his 27th.
Muncy’s blast gave the Dodgers their first victory with double digits in runs since an 11-5 win in Colorado on Aug. 17 and their first at home since a 12-7 victory over the San Diego Padres on July 2.
Kiké Hernandez added a two-run home run in the seventh, finishing his third game at first base over the past five contests with two hits, two runs scored and four RBIs out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order.
There was even a home run in the eighth from Kyle Tucker, hit off of Reds catcher Jose Trevino, who was on the mound in mop-up duty.
A trip to Miami then Cincinnati awaits as the Dodgers make their last multi-city road trip of the regular season.
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More to come on this story.