Not a cake or a ribbon-wrapped present, but the Dodgers celebrated manager Dave Roberts’ 54th birthday with a 9-1 win over the Phillies on Sunday. The Dodgers ended their homestand with a 5-1 record despite their six-game winning streak ending the night before.
“I like the prospects of winning a baseball game,” Roberts said about what he wanted for his birthday. “It seems like we always play on my birthday. It’s just like any other day. Just kind of a little bit of gratitude, obviously.”
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-5) held the Phillies hitless over the first three innings thanks, in part, to the defense.
Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh tried to steal second in the second inning, but he took off too early. Yamamoto swung around and tossed the ball to Alex Freeland, who nabbed Marsh’s hands.
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Yamamoto, much like Roki Sasaki the night before, threw his pitches faster than normal. But the elevated velocity didn’t seem to affect his performance. Despite throwing his four-seam fastball 1 mph faster than usual, the pitch resulted in a strike 76% of the time.
Philadelphia’s Trea Turner and Alex Bohm each snagged singles in the fourth inning, but little came to fruition. When Roberts pulled Yamamoto in the sixth, he had blanked his opponents with 10 strikeouts, four hits and two walks.
“Having a guy like Yoshinobu take the ball, it just gives you that extra confidence,” Roberts said. “You’re trying to win a series against a good team in the midst of 10 in a row. There’s just a lot of dependability with him.”
Yet no one — not the Phillies (30-29) nor the Dodgers (38-21) — had a harder game at the plate than home plate umpire Sean Barber, who had nine ABS challenges, three of which were upheld.
The Dodgers tallied 13 hits against the Phillies, and the runs followed close behind. In the second, Alex Freeland’s RBI double bounced off the center-field wall. As Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford rushed to track it down, Max Muncy sprinted around third and slid into home plate, avoiding the tag by catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Realmuto left in the bottom of the fourth inning with a left wrist contusion from a pitch that had hit him earlier in the game. He will undergo further testing, according to the team.
Kyle Tucker took a step toward overcoming his recent struggles with a third-inning RBI single down the first-base line. The ball skidded against the dirt and deflected off the base over Bryce Harper’s head. Freddie Freeman scored.
Tucker was one for 17 at Dodger Stadium before he finally connected a hit off Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (1-6).
“I think that speaks to not being selective enough, because he is a guy that by nature can run deep counts and still be fine getting to two strikes, but it just seems like he’s much more hyperaggressive than I recall,” Roberts said before the game. “That’s just what my eyes see. But, yeah, he’s working hard to try to work through it.”
From there, the Dodgers kept scoring.
Ryan Ward and Freeland each homered to right field. It was Ward’s first home run in his first game at Dodger Stadium. Alex Call, who pinch-hit for Ward in the fifth, also drove in two runs with an RBI single to shallow center left field.
Andy Pages scored in the sixth inning on a Freeman sacrifice fly, and Max Muncy hit a seventh-inning home run.
Bryson Stott finally put the Phillies on the board with a home run in the ninth. By then, though, the Dodgers had already wrapped the bow on Roberts’ birthday gift.
The Dodgers activated left-handed reliever Jack Dreyer from the injured list and, in a corresponding move, optioned Paul Gervase to triple-A Oklahoma City.
Dreyer had been one of the Dodgers’ most consistent relievers before he missed 13 games with left shoulder inflammation. In 20 appearances, he held a 2.08 ERA with five earned runs and 24 strikeouts.
“Really excited to be back, obviously to do what I can to help the team,” Dreyer said. “Feeling great, so just ready to go whenever my number is called.”
Blake Snell, recovering from surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, is throwing plyo balls but is not on a throwing progression yet like closer Edwin Díaz.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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