Hernández and Smith rally Dodgers past Red Sox 7-6 in 11 innings

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Will Smith singled with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th inning to drive in Kiké Hernández as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 7-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Smith lined a base hit to center field off Greg Weissert (2-2) to give the Dodgers the victory.

“It was back and forth all game. It was a fun one to come out on top of,” Smith said. “Just trying to get a pitch to hit and get in the air.”

Hernández was the automatic runner at second base to begin the 11th. He advanced to third on pinch-hitter Cavan Biggio’s sacrifice bunt. Chris Taylor walked and Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked to set the stage for Smith, who delivered the sixth walk-off hit of his career and first since 2022.

“They don't want Shohei to beat them so tonight was Will's opportunity. I feel just as comfortable with any one of those guys up at the plate with the game on the line. It was a huge win,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Hernández, who entered in the seventh, kept the Dodgers alive twice. He tied it at 4 in the ninth with a solo homer to left-center off former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.

It was the first homer Jansen has allowed this season.

“He gave me one to handle and I didn’t miss it. I was able to make contact and after that, it was just compete mode,” said Hernández, who reached 10 years of MLB service time on Saturday.

Hernández then evened it 6-all in the 10th with a base hit up the middle to drive in Andy Pages, whose one-out double brought home automatic runner Freddie Freeman.

Blake Treinen (3-2) got the win by retiring Boston in order in the 11th.

Tyler O'Neill hit a pair of two-run homers for the Red Sox, who had won six straight games decided by one run.

With Jarren Duran as the automatic runner in the 10th, O'Neill's two-run shot off Evan Phillips leading off the inning gave the Red Sox designated hitter his third multi-homer game of the season.

O'Neill gave Boston a 4-3 lead in the seventh with a two-run drive into the Dodgers' bullpen in left field. It was the fifth time in his seven-year career he had at least four RBIs in a game.

“He took some good swings. That's what he can do,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “Not every day he's going to be 100%. We know that, but in the batter's box he's a game changer. He had an outstanding game.”

Duran drove in the other two Red Sox runs in the fifth with a double off the wall in right-center.

Bryan Bello allowed three runs on five hits and struck out seven in six innings. It was the seventh straight game a Boston starter went at least six innings, its longest streak since an eight-game run in 2018.

Gavin Lux also homered for Los Angeles with a solo shot just over the fence in right-center in the second.

Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski didn’t allow a run in 4 1/3 innings and struck out five.

WEB GEM

O'Neill's first homer ended up negating a great play by James Outman. The Dodgers' center fielder made a leaping catch of Rob Refsnyder’s line drive and held onto the ball while crashing into the wall for the first out in the seventh.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: 2B Vaughn Grissom (right hamstring) started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester.

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (lower back tightness) is on track to come off the injured list Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Boston RHP Kutter Crawford (6-7, 3.04 ERA) takes the mound in the series finale. Los Angeles will go with LHP James Paxton (7-2, 4.38 ERA).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

DJ Matsunaga, left, of the band Creepy Nuts, gets a ball from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, second form right, after throwing a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski throws to a Boston Red Sox batter during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello throws to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Gavin Lux, right, celebrates after his solo home run with Teoscar Hernández, left, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Gavin Lux celebrates as he rounds the bases following his solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran advances to third base after his two-run double following a throwing error from Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran follows through on a two-run double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela slides headfirst into third base after a pop fly by Tyler O'Neill during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. Rafaela was out at third on a double play. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Gavin Lux has sunflower seeds thrown at him after his solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Gavin Lux celebrates in the dugout after his solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith celebrates after driving in the winning run with a single during the 11th inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith, left, celebrates with first base coach Clayton McCullough, right, after driving in the winning run with a single during the 11th inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith, center, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani, left, and Kiké Hernández, right, after driving in the winning run with a single during the eleventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith, left, drives in the winning run with a single during the 11th inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

SAO PAULO (AP) — The host of the NFL's first game in Brazil, soccer club Corinthians, was not keen on the green-dominated color schemes of its Friday night visitors, the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles. But many fans at the NeoQuimica Arena didn't seem to mind.

And that included some supporters of Corinthians, a club that has tried for decades to avoid any reference to the color of its local rival Palmeiras.

Excitement was evident in Sao Paulo for the second game of the 2024 NFL season and the league's first visit to South America. Philadelphia and Green Bay both made the playoffs last season.

Once the game began, it became clear there were three groups in attendance: Eagles supporters, Packers fans and those who were happy to cheer for either team. Local authorities estimated that roughly 20% of the expected crowd of 42,000 was from the United States.

Game officials, though, didn't get any sympathy. Insults in Portuguese chanted every weekend for soccer referees rang out whenever a divisive decision was made.

Before the game, Packers fan and schoolteacher Cody Armstrong, 32, told The Associated Press he spent much of the money he made over the summer to travel from Oakland, California, with three friends, including two Eagles fans. They were all dressed in green as they waited for their orders at a fast-food restaurant next to the stadium.

“Is it true that they don't like green here?” Armstrong said. “Well ... they will have to bear with us.”

Also dressed in green, the friends watched Kansas City's season-opening victory over Baltimore on Thursday night at a Sao Paulo bar, and they were excited to see so many locals enthusiastic about American football. Marketing experts have estimated there are 38 million fans of the sport in soccer-mad Brazil.

Bruno Silva, 37, bought an unofficial black Eagles jersey, which was being sold for about 50 Brazilian reals ($10) in a subway station near the stadium. A Corinthians fan, he said he would support Philadelphia — designated as the home team in Brazil — because it declined to wear green.

“This is our home,” said Silva, who started following the NFL five years ago. “We support who supports us.”

William Camargo, 39, also a Corinthians fan, showed up wearing a green Packers jersey, which many supporters of the soccer club would consider to be heresy.

“We like to say that Corinthians is owned by its fans. Green Bay is the same thing,” Camargo said of the community-owned franchise.

He said he became a fan of the Packers because of their former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers — whose jersey was a popular choice among fans in the stadium Friday night.

Other fans wore jerseys of other NFL teams, including New England, San Francisco, Buffalo and Baltimore.

Some were dressed out for a night out. Wearing a long blue dress, Narrima Oliveira, 34, attended with her boyfriend and was most interested in the halftime performance of Brazilian pop star Anitta.

“This feels like a party. We are going out to dance after this, too. I am not a football fan, but I can feel the joy that you guys have by watching it. It is a big celebration,” she said.

The party would have been different if the Sao Paulo state government had not made a special authorization for in-stadium beer sales. Brazil rarely authorizes the sale of alcoholic beverages inside sporting venues to avoid violence among fans.

Russell Okung, who played for four teams over 11 NFL seasons, was among the attractions off the field Friday night. He joined other Brazilian practitioners of capoeira, an African-Brazilian martial art disguised as a dance, to perform in front of applauding fans at various spots outside the stadium.

“I love Brazil,” Okung told reporters before one of his several capoeira performances. “So glad the NFL made it here.”

Before kickoff, several Brazilian Olympic athletes saluted the crowd, including gymnast Rebeca Andrade and skateboarder Rayssa Leal, both Corinthians fans and medalists at the Paris Games.

Neither wore green.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Brazilian pop superstar Anitta headlines the halftime performance at the league's first-ever game in South America between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo.Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazilian pop superstar Anitta headlines the halftime performance at the league's first-ever game in South America between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo.Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Neo Quimica Arena in a general view, GV, from the upper level at the 50 yard line before an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Philadelphia Eagles watches during warm ups before an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

The Philadelphia Eagles arrive for an NFL football against the Green Bay Packers, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Fans pose before an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Fans pose for a picture before an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)