In a recreation the place the offense didn't do a lot injury, the Dodgers had been in a position to squeeze out a 2-1 victory to safe a sweep of the Nationals in Washington. Not solely did Yoshinobu Yamamoto do nicely, however the bullpen held some stress factors within the late innings.
Yamamoto faces a tricky problem, adjusting to a brand new league and with the stress of an enormous contract, to not point out the accidents that this rotation offers with. Thursday's recreation was the type of affair he was dropped at win.
After staying out of the heater in opposition to the Mets, Yamamoto returned to it in opposition to the Nats, recognizing it excessively down within the zone for referred to as strikes (15 of them).
Whereas in his final recreation, Yamamoto suffered quite a bit with arduous contact everywhere, this time he did a significantly better job staying away from the Nats' barrels. Yamamoto allowed simply three arduous balls in six innings of shutout baseball.
Yamamoto additionally flashed the pores and skin as a way of survival, working strictly on instincts to catch this screaming liner again within the center.
Shutout baseball was a lot wanted by Yamamoto, because the Dodgers offense encountered its fair proportion of struggles in opposition to Mackenzie Gore. Particularly so with runners in scoring place.
Though 9 occasions a Dodgers batter reached base safely in opposition to the Nats, just one got here round to attain. In all six occasions Gore has had a runner in scoring place, the southpaw has gotten what it takes to maintain Washington within the recreation.
The one shot the Dodgers had with a runner in scoring place got here as Freddie Freeman secured a much-needed insurance coverage run within the eighth, driving in Mookie Betts to make it 2-0 on the time.
One of many questions the Dodgers confronted early within the season is across the depth of their bullpen, questions strengthened by the absence of Brusdar Graterol and the struggles of Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly. Amidst all this, a reputation that might be a distinction maker may regain their confidence.
Alex Vesia got here on to carry a 1-0 lead within the high of the seventh and dominated the Nationals with three punch outs, ending a two-out squeaker of a success. It’s granted that he was the underside of the order, however Vesia typically is his worst enemy with the shortage of command, and when he’s on, the left can overcome anybody.
Talking of issues with command, somebody who way more hardly ever encounters these misfortunes in Evan Phillips, confirmed Monday's shaky however in the end profitable outing was simply an outlier. With excessive ease, the Dodgers' nearer closed issues out 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts.
Particulars of Thursday
Dwelling run: Teoscar Hernández (6)
WP – Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1): : 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 stroll, 7 strikeouts
LP – MacKenzie Gore (2-2): : 6 IP, 7 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
SV – Evan Phillips (7): : 1 IP, 2 strikeouts
Subsequent
The Dodgers proceed for the second act on their highway journey, making a uncommon journey north of the border for a weekend sequence in opposition to the Toronto Blue Jays. The opening recreation on Friday (4:07 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) options Gavin Stone and veteran Chris Bassitt on the mound.
