The Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 5-4 on April 28, taking the first game of a three-game home series at Dodger Stadium after scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to erase a 4-2 deficit. The rally gave Los Angeles its third straight victory and pushed the club to 20 wins and 9 losses, keeping it in first place in the National League West by half a game over the San Diego Padres.
Before the game, Kim Hye-seong received his World Series ring to applause from Dodgers coaches and teammates, then took the field at shortstop and batted eighth. He said, “Coming to the Dodgers was the best decision of my life.”
That celebration turned quickly into a rough night for the 27-year-old. Kim made an error in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and the bases loaded, then went 0 for 2 and saw his season batting average fall from.333 to.319. The Dodgers needed more than sentiment to recover, and they got it from a lineup that stayed alive into the final inning.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed five hits, four walks and four runs over five innings, including a go-ahead three-run home run by Liam Hicks in the top of the fifth. Down 4-2 in the ninth, Shohei Ohtani delivered a one-run, two-out, two-run double that cut the deficit to 4-3 before Los Angeles finished the comeback. The game was part of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, but it also carried the shadow of the 2025 World Series, a reminder that the Dodgers are still playing with a target on their backs and the pressure of a defending champion.
For Los Angeles, the bigger story is not just that it won again. It is that the club is finding ways to survive imperfect starts, defensive mistakes and late deficits without surrendering control of the division race. Kim’s ring ceremony made the afternoon feel like a celebration. The ninth inning made it clear the Dodgers are not content to let one bad stretch define them.