Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Kicking off the series on the southside of Chicago against the White Sox, the Dodgers got involved in a pitchers’ duel where both starters exited the game with a zero in the runs column. Thankfully, it was the Dodgers who finally broke through against the White Sox pen, and then their bullpen took care of the rest in a 3-0 shutout victory.
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James Paxton is coming off two excellent starts and he decided to add a third in a row today against the hapless White Sox. That said he did face some early trouble, as he had to work around a two-out walk and single in the 1st and a single and a walk in the 3rd. However, he didn’t face any trouble the rest of the way, which only ended up being five innings due to deep counts and a lot of whiffs.
A good problem to have for him: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 91 Pitches.
Unfortunately, he did not exit with the lead as maybe future teammate Garrett Crochet was on the other end and dealing as well. Most of the traffic against him came with either two outs — two singles in the 1st and a HBP and single in the 3rd — or he ended up facing the minimum thanks to double plays (2nd and 4th).
He tallied his first clean frame in the 5th and then got the next two outs in the 6th before they turned to the pen, as he was up to 91 pitches, and thank goodness they removed him.
While the 6th was completed without drama, the 7th immediately started with trouble. Miguel Rojas doubled and Enrique Hernandez drove him in with a double of his own.
Enrique Hernandez doubles for the game's first run, driving in Miguel Rojas, who also doubled. pic.twitter.com/1E8xKXkJ6v
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) June 25, 2024
Chris Taylor then reached on an error by Paul DeJong that also scored Enrique, though after a pair of walks the Dodgers left the bases loaded in the frame.
Chris Taylor reaches on an error, which scores another run. pic.twitter.com/cY94UCGpA2
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) June 25, 2024
There was also a short rain delay in there, which I didn’t mind for once due to the decisive games of the College World Series and Stanley Cup being on. Anyway, a 2-0 lead nonetheless.
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With Paxton’s departure, the Dodger pen was tasked with keeping the shutout intact. It started with Daniel Hudson, who got a scoreless frame in the 6th, and Yohan Ramirez followed by getting a clean inning in the 7th. Evan Phillips was a bit of a surprise in the 8th, but it was for the middle of the order, and he worked around a double for a scoreless inning.
After not adding on in the 8th, the Dodgers added insurance in the 9th. A Taylor single was followed by a wild pitch, and Jason Heyward grounded out to second to advance him a bag. That was important when Shohei Ohtani hit a deep fly ball for a sacrifice that made it 3-0.
With the bottom of the order up, it was Alex Vesia in the 9th, who carved them up in 10 pitches for the victory. Impressive.
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Dodgers now 23-0 in the Miguel Rojas Gets A Hit era.
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| NL WEST | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 49-31 |
| Padres | 41-41 (9 GB)* |
*Either still playing or will play later.
The two teams do it again tomorrow at 2:10 PM HT/5:10 PM PT/8:10 PM ET with Bobby Miller looking to have a better start than his debut against Chris Flexen.
