Buehler puts final touches on a sweep
Right-hander pitches seven innings and Dodgers win all three games of series.
The Dodgers took the field Sunday afternoon fresh off wins over the Miami Marlins the previous two nights. But those victories were not befitting of matchups between the team with the best record in the National League and the club with the worst mark. On Friday, they squeaked by the last-place club, nearly wasting another strong outing by Hyun-Jin Ryu. On Saturday, their bullpen and defense fumbled away a six-run lead before the offense played savior again late.
On Sunday, they sought a clean, decisive win. They got one, drubbing the Marlins 9-0 to complete their first sweep of the Marlins at Dodger Stadium since 2003.
“It’s always good to have a game like that,” infielder Max Muncy said.
Muncy was the first to inflict damage on rookie righthander Jordan Yamamoto with a two-run home run in the first inning as the Dodgers chased him after the fourth inning before preying
on the Marlins’ bullpen. Joc Pederson, who made his first start in right field, and A.J. Pollock also homered to tally seven of the Dodgers’ nine runs via homers. Enrique Hernandez doubled one home in the fourth inning and Pollock supplied a run-scoring single in the fifth.
On the other side, Walker Buehler submitted seven innings. He surrendered five hits, struck out 11 batters and walked none, further decreasing his league-best walk rate. He allowed two runners to reach scoring position. Neither reached third base. He departed with a 6-0 lead and, unlike Saturday, the Dodgers bullpen didn’t squander the 6-0 advantage. Casey Sadler and Caleb Ferguson provided two scoreless innings to seal the Dodgers’ 40th home win in 52 games.
“Just getting ahead of guys all day,” manager Dave Roberts said of Buehler. “The called strike, the swing-and-miss. He could essentially do whatever he wanted today.”
Yamamoto was one of the four prospects the Marlins acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Christian Yelich two winters ago. Yelich went on to become the National League MVP and is building a case to win the award again. The trade, so far, has been a heist for the Brewers. It will likely stay that way. Yamamoto’s emergence, however, has softened the blow for Miami.
The rookie righthander’s emergence is one of the few bright spots in another dismal Marlins season. He entered Sunday having given up six earned runs in 34 innings over his first six starts. He gave up 15 hits. Only three went for extra bases. None were home runs.
That zero was spoiled immediately Sunday. Four batters into Yamamoto’s outing, Muncy cracked a tworun home run to left-center field. It was his 26th homer this season. Eight players across the majors have hit more. Pederson matched Muncy in the third, whacking a fastball over the rightfield wall for another tworun shot to double the Dodgers’ lead. It was his 23rd. All have come against righthanders.
Yamamoto exited after the fourth inning, giving up five runs on four hits. WeiYin Chen took his place and the Dodgers scored a run off him in the fifth. The Dodgers tacked on three more in the seventh when Pollock lifted a flyball off right-hander Tayron Guerrero that carried over the wall in right field. It was Pollock’s fourth home run in nine games since coming off the injured list July 12. He batted .223 with a .617 OPS and two homers in 28 games before landing on the injured list in April.
“I’m in a better position to hit, posture wise, mechanically,” said Pollock, who is hitting .406 since his return. “And then the other thing is I just feel like I have better rhythm to my game. I just feel like I’m in a better place.”
Buehler had just completed his outing when Pollock applied the finishing touches. The right-hander threw 94 pitches. He tossed 71 strikes and accumulated 23 swings-and-misses, tying his season-high total. His final pitch was a 96-mph fastball he rifled past Jorge Alfaro to end a three-pitch atbat and the seventh inning. Buehler held his leg up for an extra second after the overwhelmed Alfaro whiffed, and strutted off the mound with his ninth win, bullpen willing, all sewn up.
Short hops
Catcher Russell Martin made his season debut at third base in the ninth inning. He started 16 games at third base for Toronto last season. Martin’s insertion at third base shifted Justin Turner to second base for the first time in four years. … Catcher Keibert Ruiz, 21, made his debut for triple-A Oklahoma City. He batted .254 with four home runs and a .659 OPS in 76 games for double-A Tulsa. Ruiz is the Dodgers’ third-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America.