RON WASHINGTON, manager of the Los Angeles Angels (Angels photo).

In what they used to call a “slugfest,” the Cincinnati Reds got in the most punches and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-6 in the Queen City on Friday.

The Blue Crew got two home runs – one by Will Smith and another by Ted Hernandez – and three hits from Mookie Betts – but could not hold on to a 5-3 lead.

Six runs poured across the plate in the Reds’ fifth inning and that proved to be enough. The key hit was a grand slam by Jonathan India, along with two other home runs in the victory.

Shohei Ohtani had a rare off-night, batting 0-for-5 to see his average drop of .340.

The loss went to reliever Yohan Ramirez (0-2) who faced four batters and yielded three hits and a walk without getting an out.

With the loss, the Dodgers are 33-20 and remain in first place in the National League West. They’ll take on the Reds again on Saturday with Walker Buehler (1-1) getting the start.

The Los Angeles Angels crumbled under a barrage of home runs as the visiting Cleveland Guardians defeated them 10-4 at Anaheim.

Cleveland got one home run in the third and three more in the fourth. Angel starter Patrick Sandoval was tagged for eight runs on six hits including three round-trippers in 3.2 innings.

For the Halos, home runs were hit by Luis Renfigo, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI, and Logan O’Hoppe, who was 2-for-4 with two runs driven in and one run scored.

With the loss, the Angels are 20-31 and remain in fifth and last place in the American League West. Jose Soriano (2-4) will get the start on Saturday against Cleveland.