LOS ANGELES — The Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers traded blows like heavyweight fighters on April 28, 2025, at Dodger Stadium, with the home team scraping out a 7-6 victory in a wild, extra-inning showdown that had fans gasping. A five-run lead vanished, a pinch-hit grand slam stunned the crowd, and a walk-off single sealed the deal in the tenth. It was baseball at its chaotic best.
The Dodgers jumped out early, piling on runs against Miami’s Edward Cabrera. In the first inning, Freddie Freeman’s single drove in a run. Mookie Betts added another with a bases-loaded single in the third, and Miguel Rojas tacked on a double in the fourth. Teoscar Hernández, swinging a scorching bat, crushed a two-run homer in the fifth—his ninth of the season—giving L.A. a comfy 5-0 cushion. Cabrera, roughed up for five runs, didn’t make it out of the fifth.
But the Marlins, scrappy as ever, weren’t done. The sixth inning flipped the script. With the bases juiced and one out, Miami’s Dane Myers stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Facing Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda, Myers launched a grand slam—his first career slam—erasing the deficit in one swing. Eric Wagaman’s RBI single earlier in the inning had already chipped away, and suddenly, the game was knotted at 5-5. The Miami dugout erupted; the L.A. crowd sat in stunned silence.
Both teams went quiet until the tenth, when baseball’s extra-inning ghost runner rule cranked up the drama. Miami’s Jesús Sánchez doubled off Dodgers reliever Kirby Yates, scoring the automatic runner to put the Marlins ahead 6-5. It looked like Miami might steal one. But the Dodgers, battle-tested and stubborn, had other plans. Andy Pages drew a leadoff walk in the bottom half, and Kiké Hernández laid down a sacrifice bunt that drew roars from the 48,232 in attendance. Tommy Edman, cool as ice, ripped a two-run single off Miami’s Ronny Henriquez, scoring Michael Conforto and Pages to clinch the 7-6 win.
Hernández’s homer was his third in as many games, and Edman’s clutch hit capped a night where the Dodgers’ resilience shone. Miami’s Myers, despite the loss, etched his name in the highlight reels with his monster slam. The game, clocking in at just under three hours, was a rollercoaster from start to finish.
On April 29, the teams squared off again, with Miami’s Sandy Alcantara taking the mound against a Dodgers bullpen game. The Marlins, sitting at 12-16 and fifth in the NL East, were desperate to snap a three-game road skid. The Dodgers, 19-10 and atop the NL West, leaned on their slugging lineup, boasting a .437 team slugging percentage, fourth-best in the majors. Miami’s .255 batting average, third in the National League, hinted at their ability to keep pace if their bats stayed hot.
The series, a clash of payroll giants and underdogs, underscored baseball’s unpredictability. The Dodgers’ high-octane offense met its match in Miami’s never-say-die spirit, setting the stage for more fireworks. Game two was underway as the sun dipped below the California hills, with fans on both coasts glued to every pitch.