Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Ugh. You hate to waste a good start. And that is just what the Dodgers did on Sunday. But they didn’t just waste a “good” start. They wasted arguably the best start of young Bobby Miller‘s life.
For six innings, Miller shut down the high-powered Yankees offense. For six innings, he made hitters like Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo look like overmatched little leaguers. And what did he get in return for his efforts? A big, fat no-decision.
And that would have been bad enough, but to think that the Yankees won the game 4-1 based on a couple of scratch runs and a homer from a guy who’s been hitting far under the Mendoza line for the last month, it really hurts.
The lone run for the Dodgers was a homer from good ol’ J.D. Martinez, who continues his torrid play. Everybody else pretty much came up empty against Yankee starter Domingo German, who had his A game going on Sunday.
But the story here is Miller. His line for the day: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Yes, it was a bummer to lose the game, but that stuff will sort itself out over the course of a season. Finding a Bobby Miller for the Dodgers’ beleaguered rotation is huge, a fact not lost on manager Dave Roberts.
“It’s a pleasant surprise,” Roberts said after the game when asked how Miller has carried himself so far as a big leaguer. “Sometimes when you get here, the focus heightens or narrows even more. And I think so far with Bobby, that’s what we’ve seen.”
So to recap what we saw on Sunday: Dodger offense: bad. Dodger bullpen: bad. Bobby freakin’ Miller: awesome.
