Dodgers build on Freddie Freeman’s grand slam, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s strong start to victory

There are days when Dodger have to pick up wins, like they did against the Cincinnati Reds, to win a tight four-game weekend series.

Then there are days like Monday, when the Dodgers blitz an opposing pitcher, take a big early lead and then shift into cruise control, turning stress-free wins into something of a routine early this season.

The club’s 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium featured all those familiar, one-sided hallmarks.

The Dodgers exploded for six runs in the third inning, highlighted by a grand slam from Freddie Freeman. He erased a short-lived Diamondbacks lead, quickly erasing an RBI single by Joc Pederson in the top of the third. And then turned the keys to start the pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamotogetting a strong start of two runs and 6⅓ innings from the Japanese rookie.

There was some late drama when the Diamondbacks halved a four-run deficit in the eighth with back-to-back home runs off Elieser Hernández, a low-leverage reliever in a damaged Dodgers bullpen.

But, as always, the club closed the door before things got really interesting, getting a straight save from Daniel Hudson in the ninth inning to complete their fourth straight victory.

It was a very good offensive inning,” said manager Dave Roberts about the club’s explosion in the third inning.

Roberts’ only real complaint?

“I wish we could have gathered more of these together tonight,” he said, “to potentially stay away from those closest to us.”

In the end, however, any greater productivity would have been superfluous for the Dodgers, who have the third-best record in the major leagues and, at 33-17, tied for the eighth-most wins at 50 games in a season in league history. franchise in Los Angeles.

See more information: ‘He turned into a weapon.’ How Michael Grove became a high-leverage Dodgers reliever

The big lead allowed Yamamoto to throw 100 mostly stress-free pitches — the most so far in a big league start — while striking out eight and lowering his ERA to 3.17.

“It helps,” Yamamoto said through his pitching interpreter with so much room to breathe. “I think I can do more different things than when the game is really close.”

This allowed Roberts some rest for an ace after removing Teoscar Hernández (who has started all 50 games thus far) in the top of the seventh.

It also allowed the Dodgers to maintain their torrid early-season momentum, improving their May record to 14-4.

“Pitching has been the impetus for us during this successful stretch we’re in,” Roberts said.

Their lineup’s six-run outburst, however, was more important on Monday.

The third-inning offense began quickly as Kiké Hernández tied the score on a solo blast to lead off the frame.

The Dodgers jumped on Arizona pitcher Slade Cecconi after that.

Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts chosen. Shohei Ohtani took a five-step walk. Then Freeman fired a 2-and-1 fastball off the knees, crushing a grand slam to center field — the sixth of his career — to earn a brief curtain call from a crowd of 37,634.

“It’s cool,” Freeman said. “We work every day, we strive every day, and when fans appreciate the little things in games, when we all play and try to win, it’s good.”

In the next at-bat, Will Smith added for good measure, hammering his fifth home run of the season to complete the Dodgers’ second-highest scoring inning of the season (and 14th inning scoring at least four runs).

“We should be able to increase every entry, whether it’s a crooked number or creates some kind of stress,” Roberts said. “When we click, this is what happens.”

From there, Yamamoto’s job was easy: fill the strike zone, limit the damage and pitch as deep as possible in a start that included seven hits, one walk and few legitimate threats from the injury-plagued Diamondbacks (22-26). ).

“I learned this lineup from the first time I faced them,” said Yamamoto, who pitched six shutout innings at Phoenix earlier this month. “So that was a little plus for me.”

On Monday, that counted as one of many advantages for the mighty Dodgers, who once again made victory look easy to continue their fast start to the 2024 season.

Sheehan Update

Seven days earlier, doctors told Emmet Sheehan he had a choice.

Keep trying to avoid surgery and hope that your bad arm can eventually heal, or undergo Tommy John surgery and try for a comeback next summer.

Sitting in the dugout with his arm in a sling on Monday, Sheehan discussed for the first time why he chose the latter.

“I knew what it meant,” Sheehan said. “Obviously not the best feeling in the world.”

Despite this, Sheehan was not intimidated by the diagnosis. He didn’t seem concerned about his long-term outlook. During his conversation with reporters on Monday, he didn’t seem phased by the roughly 13-month rehabilitation process that lay ahead.

Like most modern pitchers, he knows that injuries are an occupational hazard on the job.

And like most modern pitchers, he hopes his operation is just a detour in his career; that the progress he made by going 4-1 with a 4.92 ERA as a rookie last year won’t be erased by a year recovering from surgery.

See more information: Hernández: Dodgers have good reason to be patient, believe Walker Buehler can still dominate

“There’s no point thinking about it now,” he said of his disappointment at not being able to pitch this year. “It’s just moving on to the next thing, trying to progress and improve and be healthy for next year.”

Sheehan was first injured during the spring when arm discomfort — and, as he revealed on Monday, an undisclosed oblique strain — forced him to miss the start of the season. Sheehan said there was no throwing when he felt the ligament tear. He’s even tried to step it up in recent weeks, completing regular pregame long-throw sessions in the outfield.

However, when the pain didn’t go away, doctors told him it might be time to go under the knife, which led him to decide to have Tommy John surgery, which also included an internal “brace” to give extra support to the damaged ligament. .

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’ve been in situations where it didn’t look like I was going to make it to the big leagues or get drafted, things like that,” Sheehan said. “I haven’t done rehabilitation in a long time. But I know what it’s like. So I’m not too scared.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the beginning of each series.

This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.