Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads strong pitching week for Dodgers

After losing the previous three series in a row, the Dodgers got back on track last week by playing teams on both ends of the success spectrum.

The Dodgers handled the worst team in baseball, the Rockies, in a three-game sweep, though all three games were hard-fought. Then came a first place team, the Rangers, on the road, and the Dodgers were one inning away from a sweep in Texas as well.

Saturday’s walk-off loss erased a Dodgers ninth-inning lead, but they held all the others to win five of six games. The games were close enough for Tanner Scott to record four saves during the week.

Here’s a recap of the week, which included some new players, a new family addition, and mostly excellent pitching by the Dodgers.

Batter of the week

Freddie Freeman had two hits in all three games against the Rockies, homered on Saturday against the Rangers, and drove in the only run on Sunday. He led or shared the team lead last week in OPS, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, home runs, doubles, and walks.

Pitcher of the week

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has simply been fantastic to start this season, including out-dueling Jacob deGrom on Friday night in Arlington with seven scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts. Yamamoto last season had a high of nine strikeouts, done once in his 22 starts, including the postseason. This year, he has a nine-strikeout game and two 10-strikeout games already, and a 35.2-percent strikeout rate that ranks third in the majors to go with his National League-leading 0.93 ERA.

Week 5 results

5-1 record
26 runs scored (4.33 per game)
16 runs allowed (2.67 per game)
.709 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

16-7 record
100 runs scored (4.35 per game)
90 runs allowed (3.91 per game)
.500 pythagorean win percentage (13-10)

Miscellany

Interleague zeroes: By blanking the Rangers on both Friday and Monday, the Dodgers secured two shutouts in the same series against an American League team for just the fourth time in the 29 years of interleague play. The other double-shutout series:

In a pinch: Will Smith did not start on Sunday, but he did pinch-hit for Austin Barnes in the eighth inning and singled to start the winning rally. Smith went to second base on a walk, took third on a flyout, and scored on Freddie Freeman’s sacrifice fly. Smith is 2-for-2 as a pinch-hitter this season, and both times he scored the winning run. On March 28, Smith delivered a game-tying pinch-RBI single in the 10th inning against the Tigers, then was the first to touch home plate on Mookie Betts’ walk-off three-run home run.

Power outage: Max Muncy walked more than he struck out this week, but he’s still struggling at the plate. He did have a ground-rule double on Saturday and a flyout to the wall on Sunday that had a .970 expected batting average. But he’s still without a home run on the season, though 79 plate appearances.

That’s one trip to the plate shy of the longest power drought of his career. Muncy went 80 plate appearances in between home runs, from May 7 to June 9, 2022, the season in which he was coming back from a dislocated elbow and torn ulnar ligament.

Transactions

Wednesday: Right-hander Bobby Miller was called up from Triple-A to start the series finale against the Rockies. Landon Knack was optioned.

Thursday: Miller was optioned after his spot start.

Friday: Right-hander Noah Davis was called up from Oklahoma CIty.

Friday: Shohei Ohtani went on paternity leave for the birth of his first child, and outfielder Eddie Rosario was called up. Edgardo Henriquez was moved to the 60-day injured list to make roster room for Rosario.

Saturday: In a bullpen swap, Evan Phillips was activated from the IL after missing the first 21 games, and Blake Treinen was placed on the IL with forearm tightness.

Sunday: Ohtani was activated after the birth of his daughter, and Rosario was designated for assignment.

Game results

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Up next

The Dodgers finish off their road trip and their season series (already!) against the Cubs before returning home for the Pirates, completing the John Grabow gauntlet. It looks like Friday’s homestand opener could feature a fantastic pitching matchup between Yamamoto and Paul Skenes.

“There’s a lot time, but I do think that right now he’s the best pitcher in the National League,” manager Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto after Friday’s gem in Texas. “And Skenes is pretty good too, no disrespect.”