Dodgers Recap: Once again, Yamamoto to the rescue!

CLEVELAND — Your ace is supposed to be a stopper, putting an end to any losing streak that might come along. And for the second time in the last two weeks, that’s just what Yoshinobu Yamamoto did. Last week, his brilliance against the Diamondbacks stopped a four-game skid. This time, a solid six innings put the Dodgers back in the win column after dropping the last two games against the Mets. The Dodgers’ bats, so quiet in the Big Apple, got solid production up and down the lineup card and notched a comfortable 7-2 win against the Cleveland Guardians.

The game started off with a bang, courtesy of Mr. Shohei Ohtani. For the second time in as many days, Shohei went upper tank in his first at bat. This time, it was on the first pitch of the game from righty Gavin Williams. It was a four-seamer at the knees, and Ohtani treated the ball to a 115-mph hour thrill ride to the right field stands. That would be all the Dodgers would get in the first, but staked to a 1-0 lead by his countryman, Yamamoto took the mound to take on the Guardians.

His first two innings were a breeze. Six up, six down. Meanwhile, the Dodgers tacked on a second run in the top of the second. Will Smith drew a walk (the first of a slew of free passes on the day), and he advanced to second on a balk from Williams. He took third on an infield out by Max Muncy and then came home to score when Andy Pages banged a ball through the drawn-in infield.

Things got a little quiet in the middle innings. The Dodgers had chances in the third and fourth, but came up empty. Meanwhile, in the third, the Guardians took advantage of a walk and single and managed to turn it into a run on, thanks to a sacrifice bunt and an infield out.

However, in the fifth, the Dodgers started to take control of the game. They got a pair of runs, taking advantage of a couple more Williams walks. Teoscar Hernandez hit a single to cash in the first run, and a Max Muncy sacrifice fly plated the second. Then in the sixth, the Dodgers put two more on the board, thanks to more free passes. This time, it was Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman delivering the RBI hits, both singles to finally chase Williams from the game.

Yamamoto was rolling along, pitching a scoreless fifth and then striking out the first two Guardians in the sixth. But then came perrenial All-Star Jose Ramirez. He battled mightily, and ended up hitting a fly ball into right field. It looked like Teoscar Hernandez might have had a play on, but it ended up dropping right in front of him and Ramirez had himself a double. Kyle Manzardo followed up the Ramirez hit with a single and the Guardians had scratched across a second run against the Dodgers’ ace. With a nice lead and Yamamoto nearing 100 pitches, Dave Roberts gave Yoshi the rest of the night off and turned the ball over to the bullpen. Yamamoto’s final line for the night on 88 pitches: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. His 1.97 ERA trails only fellow Japanese hurler Kodai Senga for the National League lead.

The trio of Alex Vesia, Tanner Scott, and Luis Garcia dealt with some traffic in the later innings but came through it unscathed to secure the Dodgers’ 33rd win of the season. Will Smith tacked on a bit of insurance in the top of the ninth with a two-out solo shot to put the Dodgers comfortably ahead 7-2, which is where the score would stay.

Having broken the little mini losing streak, the Dodgers re-established their two-game lead in the NL West. The Dodgers will try to win the series on Tuesday, with Dustin May headed to the mound. May, coming off his best start of the year against the D-backs, will toe the rubber against Tanner Bibee (4-4, 3.57 ERA, 43 SO). Game time will once again be an early one in the land of Cleves, starting at 3:10 PDT, so come up with another excuse to get out of work early.

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