Dodgers crush Blue Jays behind Dalton Rushing’s two homers

TORONTO — The Dodgers didn’t just return to the site of last year’s crime scene — they turned it into a sequel no one in Toronto wanted to watch.

Back inside Rogers Centre, where the Dodgers captured a Game 7 victory last fall, Monday night felt less like a rematch and more like a reminder. A loud, relentless, 14-2 dismantling powered by five home runs — and a breakout performance from Dalton Rushing — stretched an early-season surge into something far more imposing.

Over their last four games, the Dodgers have scored 45 runs. They hung 13 on Friday, 10 on Saturday, eight on Sunday, and then saved their most complete demolition for a national stage in Toronto. Two games in their road blue jerseys, two offensive avalanches — 27 combined runs. The superstition can sort itself out later. For now, the bats are doing all the talking.

And they wasted no time again.

Teoscar Hernandez goes deep to left field, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the first inning. @SportingTrib pic.twitter.com/I4M7yuAXqV

— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) April 6, 2026

Teoscar Hernández — back in a building where he built much of his career — set the tone in the first inning. After Kyle Tucker worked a walk, Hernández launched a 371-foot shot into the seats for a quick 2-0 lead. It was familiar damage in a familiar place; more than a quarter of his career home runs have come in this ballpark.

On the mound, Justin Wrobleski bent early but didn’t break. He labored through a 29-pitch first inning, issuing walks and surrendering hard contact, but limited the damage to a single run. That set the tone for a quietly effective outing: five innings, one run, and just enough command to let the offense take over.

In the third, Shohei Ohtani sparked another rally with a leadoff single. Two batters later, Freddie Freeman crushed a 438-foot homer that nearly carried the right-field bleachers with it. The swing pushed him to 370 career home runs, tying him with Gil Hodges and Manny Machado on the all-time list — and gave the Dodgers full control of the night.

From there, it became a procession.

Shohei Ohtani just crushed his third HR of the season in his return to Toronto. @SportingTrib pic.twitter.com/P0jH1NwnmG

— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) April 7, 2026

A sacrifice fly from Tucker. A run-scoring sequence in the fifth. Then the sixth inning arrived, and Ohtani — riding the longest active on-base streak in baseball — added a solo homer of his own to make it 7-1.

By then, the Blue Jays were out of answers. The Dodgers were just getting started.

Andy Pages ripped a two-run double in the seventh, continuing what has quickly become one of the hottest stretches in the league. Pages is now batting .474 and doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down.

Hernández added more with a two-run single later in the inning. Freeman chipped in again. Every inning felt like a new wave.

And right in the middle of it all was Rushing.

Making the most of consecutive starts, Rushing turned the game into his personal showcase. He homered in the seventh. He homered again in the eighth. In between, he reached base every time up. Four hits. Two home runs.

It was his first career multi-homer game — and the loudest statement yet that he belongs in the middle of this lineup when given the opportunity to start behind the plate.

By the time the Dodgers pushed the score to 14-1, manager Dave Roberts didn’t even bother with a traditional bullpen arm. He handed the ninth inning to Miguel Rojas, who absorbed the final three outs — and a bit of chaos — to bring the night to a close.

The rematch continues Tuesday, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto set to take the ball against Kevin Gausman.