Dodgers Recap: Doc focuses on the positive after dropping finale to Yanks
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers couldn’t complete the sweep on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, falling to the Yankees 7–3 in the series finale. It was an uncharacteristically rough outing for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on a night where nothing seemed to click. After the game, manager Dave Roberts spoke candidly about his ace’s rare misfire.
“He wasn’t great today,” Roberts admitted. “I think he just was out of sync from the get-go. The command wasn’t there with any of his pitches—just really uncharacteristic.”
Yamamoto labored through a 32-pitch first inning and never seemed to settle in. He exited after throwing 90 pitches without completing the fourth. Roberts said there was no benefit in pushing him further. “He certainly didn’t feel good today, so you just kind of watch this one,” he said. “Fortunately, we stayed away from some leverage guys in the bullpen.”
It was just the third time this season Yamamoto has had a shaky outing, and Roberts acknowledged a clear theme in each. “There was a lot of pitches that were ball out of hand. Was missing with the fastball,” he said. “There’s been a few like this one, but certainly a lot more better [starts] than ones like this.”
While Yamamoto struggled, so did the Dodgers’ top of the lineup, which went a combined 0-for-16. Yankees starter Ryan Yarbrough kept L.A. off balance all night with his mix of offspeed pitches and deception. “He worked front to back, mixed in the cutter, and really kept us off balance,” Roberts said. “We couldn’t muster anything up.”
Despite the loss, Roberts emphasized the bigger picture. “The takeaway is we won a series, and that was the goal coming into this weekend,” he said. “You just keep winning series and it’ll all take care of itself.”
One clear positive from the weekend was Max Muncy, who slugged three home runs in the series and is looking more and more like his old self. “I always felt the homers were going to come,” Roberts said. “He’s a better hitter right now. The strikeout-to-walk is even, he’s hitting to all fields, slugging. Honestly, this might be as good as I’ve seen him over a 30-day stretch in four years.”
Roberts also offered encouraging updates on Tommy Edman, who showed signs of breaking out at the plate this weekend. “There was no rehab [assignment], so he was a little out of whack mechanically,” Roberts noted. “But he’s moving well, physically fine, and the last few games he looks back to kind of where he was in April.”
As for the roster, Mookie Betts remains day to day with the toe injury, but is expected to take more baseball activity on Monday. “He did hit and wasn’t compromised at all swinging the bat,” Roberts said. “Hyeseong (Kim) will be in at short tomorrow, and we’ll see where Mook is on Tuesday.”
Sunday’s loss might have stung, especially after two decisive wins, but Roberts didn’t dwell on it. “This wasn’t as bad as that third game in Cleveland,” he said with a wry smile. “You just keep stacking series wins. That’s what matters.”
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