Dodgers fans cheered when they saw Corey Seager in the dugout for the first time this week.
When Dodgers fans saw Seager on the field for the first time this week, they had no choice but to boo.
In his first game as a visiting player at Dodger Stadium, Seager led the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 victory with a three-run homer in the fifth inning off Walker Buehler, three years after leaving the team that drafted him and earned him his first All-Star and World Series championship.
The Dodgers nearly saved the game in the ninth inning when they scored on a Jason Heyward double, and the final out came on a hard play at home plate after Andy Page ignored third base coach Dino Ebel’s stop sign and ran.
The Dodgers called for a challenge to see if Rangers catcher Jonah Heim had blocked home plate, but a video review stood, and the call stood. Game over.
Another night at Dodger Stadium, the game was decided by Seager’s swing.
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Less than 24 hours earlier, Seager received a warm welcome at Chavez Ravine on Tuesday, receiving a video tribute and a lengthy ovation from his former fans before the start of this week’s three-game series.
However, Seager did not play in that game due to a hamstring injury.
On Wednesday, Seager actually returned to the lineup and reminded his former team what they missed.
The Dodgers took a one-run lead into the fifth inning after Shohei Ohtani hit his 17th home run in the first inning. Seager came to bat with a runner on second base, the first being an error by newly acquired Cavan Biggio, who started at third and engaged in a full-count battle with Buehler.
The first pitch was a slider that Seager fouled off.
Next came a bright red fastball down the middle.
Seager didn’t miss.
With an explosive swing and a two-handed finish — the same silhouette that has defined Seager’s illustrious Dodger career — the slugger smashed a game-winning, three-run homer deep into the right field stands.
It was Seager’s 13th home run of the season and his 60th career at Dodger Stadium, and it was almost certainly a first for the 30-year-old veteran, eliciting a reaction he’s never received at Dodger Stadium.
Booing. Lots of it.
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This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
