Will Smith, Freddie Freeman have clutch hits as Dodgers defeat Reds

For the first half of July, the Dodgers’ slumping offense struggled to generate consistent scoring chances.

In recent weeks, the problem has been more about capitalizing upon them.

But down the stretch in a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, the team finally found a few clutch late-game hits.

Will Smith and Freddie Freeman hit consecutive two-out RBI singles in the seventh inning, erasing the two-run deficit Tyler Glasnow had left behind in a disappointing four-plus-inning, four-run start.

Then, Smith came through again in the ninth, lacing a go-ahead, two-out RBI double off the wall in left that scored pinch-runner James Outman all the way from first base.

For a team with 37 comeback wins this season, few felt bigger than Tuesday’s unlikely turnaround.

Amid the Dodgers’ many issues at the plate this month, hitting with runners in scoring position had grown as one of the most glaring weaknesses. Entering play Tuesday, the team was hitting just .242 in such situations in July, ranking in the bottom half of the majors for the month. Wasted chances were a defining theme of the team’s series loss in Boston over the weekend, punctuated by a Sunday defeat in which they went one-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 men on base.

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Early in Tuesday’s game, the problem persisted. After a two-run home run from Tommy Edman — who was back in the lineup despite a flare-up of his ankle injury over the weekend — in the second inning, the Dodgers (63-45) left runners stranded in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

In two of those failed rallies, strikeouts from Shohei Ohtani proved costly, part of an 0-for-five night in which he struck out five times.

Meanwhile, Glasnow faltered in the sweltering summer heat, giving up two home runs on elevated sliders in the fourth inning before leaving the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth; lucky that only one of the runners he left behind came around the score.

But from there, the Dodgers faced a predictable that had so often proved fatal during their scuffles in recent week: A multi-run deficit, against the heart of the opposing team’s bullpen.

This time, however, the Dodgers found late life.

Michael Conforto started the seventh inning rally, drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter to lead off the inning. That was followed by a bloop single from Mookie Betts, who reached base three times to continue his subtle turnaround since moving to the leadoff spot.

Ohtani struck out behind him, finishing the night ranked tied for fourth in the majors with 129 punchouts this year (including 17 in his last 38 at-bats).

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But then, Smith — the National League batting leader with a .325 average — dumped a single into left. Freeman then tied the score with an RBI single the same direction, giving him his first three-hit game (two of which were opposite-field line drives; a good sign for his long-ailing swing) in more than a month.

The score remained tied into the ninth, thanks largely to 1 ⅓ scoreless innings from former Reds closer Alexis Díaz, who was booed by the Cincinnati fans in his first trip back to the ballpark since being dealt to the Dodgers earlier this season.

And in the ninth, Conforto again battled his way on base with a 10-pitch walk, before Smith lined a double off the wall in left that allowed Outman to fly around the bases for the eventual winning run.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.