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Los Angeles Dodgers' Historic Home Run Explosion Leads to Blowout Win Over Rangers

Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Jason Heyward all went yard in the sixth inning on Tuesday night, making Los Angeles Dodgers history in the process.

Sam Connon

Jun 11, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Jason Heyward (23) celebrates with left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium.
Jun 11, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Jason Heyward (23) celebrates with left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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The Los Angeles Dodgers were already blowing out the Texas Rangers by the time the sixth inning rolled around, but that didn't stop them from putting on a home run derby for their home crowd.

Leading 7-1 with one on and one out, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani delivered with a 433-foot rocket to right-center. It was Ohtani's 16th home run of the season, as well as the 24th home run of his career with an exit velocity over 114 miles per hour – second only to Giancarlo Stanton since 2019, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs.

First baseman Freddie Freeman then made it back-to-back homers with a 383-foot solo shot to left-center, giving him nine bombs so far in 2024.

Teoscar Hernández, the reigning NL Player of the Week, blasted a two-run home run to left-center two batters later. To cap it off, Jason Heyward crushed a 415-foot fly ball to right that plated two more runs.

That made it four home runs in the sixth inning, extending LA's lead from six to 13 in that frame alone.

According to Langs, that tied the Dodgers' franchise record for most home runs in a single inning. They previously achieved the feat once in 2000, once in 2006, twice in 2016 and once in 2021.

This marked the first time Los Angeles had ever hit four home runs in a sixth inning.

The Dodgers now lead the National League with 91 home runs through 68 games this season. They have also scored the most runs in baseball at 346, in addition to leading MLB with a .779 team OPS.

Los Angeles' 15-2 win over the defending World Series champions lifted them to 42-26 on the season. The Dodgers own a 7.5-game lead over the San Diego Padres for first place in the NL West, and FanGraphs' projections already give them a 95.7% chance of winning the division for the 11th time in 12 years.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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