Corey Seager walk-off double lifts Dodgers over Reds

Corey Seager doubled home a run in the first inning and doubled home a run in the ninth inning, the last a walk-off hit to give the Dodgers a 5-4 walk-off win over the Reds on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers blew a lead in the middle innings, but the end result was still familiar, their eighth consecutive home run over the Reds.

Yasiel Puig, who acted quickly in limiting Joey Votto to a single in the eighth inning, then kept him from advancing to third with a strong throw in what was a scoreless top of the eighth, singled with one out in the ninth inning of a tie game against Drew Storen.

Justin Turner, who didn’t start on Saturday in his second day back off the disabled list, followed with a pinch-hit single of his own. After a strikeout by Franklin Gutierrez, that set the stage for Seager, who hit one just out of reach of Scooter Gennett in left field.

All things were pointing toward Alex Wood winning his sixth straight start. He walked off the mound with two outs in the sixth inning having only allowed one run, with seven strikeouts and no walks. He did leave a pair of runners on base with a 4-1 lead, but that vanished immediately when Devin Mesoraco greeted Josh Fields ever so rudely with a three-run home run over the wall in left center field.

The run in the third inning for the Reds was the first charged against Wood since May 2. The RBI single by old friend Jose Peraza snapped Wood’s career-best scoreless streak at 27⅓ innings.

The Dodgers offense was ready early, scoring multiple runs in the first inning for a second day in a row. Seager doubled after Chase Utley singled for one run, then a pair of fly balls scored Seager. After that, Cody Bellinger hit a fly ball of his own, over the fence in right field for his team-leading 13th home run of the season.

Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout for the win. He has 42 strikeouts and no walks in 25⅓ innings.

Up next

The Dodgers go for a series sweep on Sunday afternoon, with Hyun-jin Ryu on the mound for the 1:10 p.m. PT start. The Reds will counter with Tim Adleman in the series finale.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Cody Bellinger (13); Devin Mesoraco (4)

WP - Kenley Jansen (4-0): 1 IP, 1 strikeout

LP - Drew Storen (1-2): ⅓ IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 strikeout