BASEBALL: Tyler Callihan's first career homers deliver Pirates win over Dodgers

On a night when Shohei Ohtani took the mound, it was Tyler Callihan who delivered the defining performance, hitting the first two home runs of his career—including one off Ohtani—to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a dramatic 9-8 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.

Callihan’s three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning off reliever Kyle Hurt gave Pittsburgh a 7-6 lead, capping a rally from a 6-1 deficit and snapping a four-game losing streak.

The Pirates added insurance later in the inning when Spencer Horwitz connected for a two-run home run off reliever Jack Dreyer, following a double by Jared Triolo.

The Dodgers made it close in the ninth when Ohtani launched a two-run homer—his 12th of the season—off Pirates closer Gregory Soto, cutting the deficit to one. However, Soto regrouped to retire Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman in succession to secure his ninth save.

Reliever Evan Sisk played a key role in the Pirates’ comeback effort, striking out Alex Call with a runner on second in the top of the eighth to prevent the Dodgers from extending a 6-4 lead.

Earlier, in the fourth inning, Callihan opened his historic night by crushing a 98-mph fastball from Ohtani and sending it 427 feet to right field for his first major league home run.

The Dodgers had briefly seized control in the sixth inning when Ryan Ward hit his first career grand slam off Pirates reliever Carmen Mlodzinski.

Despite the loss, Ohtani showed flashes of his dominance but was not at his sharpest. He allowed three earned runs on six hits, issued three walks, hit one batter, and struck out six over 6 2/3 innings—marking a rare uneven outing following a strong stretch of starts to open the season.

Offensively, Kyle Tucker led the Dodgers with two hits, while Horwitz and Mangum each recorded multiple hits for Pittsburgh.

— Field Level Media/Reuters