Shohei Ohtani continued to dazzle on the mound, and the Dodgers gave him plenty of early run support as they shut out the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0 on Wednesday.
The Dodgers started the scoring with a two-run home run for a second consecutive game, this time being Kyle Tucker launching his first home run since May 4 to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning.
Freddie Freeman added another pair of RBI on an opposite-field single in the top
of the third to make it a 4-0 lead. Freeman added another hit in the seventh inning and is now 5-15 (.333 average) with a home run and five RBI over the three games at Chase Field this week. Max Muncy drove home Freeman with a single up the middle to give the Dodgers their first three-run inning of the series and make it a five-run lead.
While the Dodgers didn’t score in the top of the fourth, they continued to make Zac Gallen earn every out. Gallen had tossed just six pitches in the first inning and 20 combined over his first two innings, but he combined for 70 pitches over his next three innings— 32, 24 and 14 pitches respectively. Gallen has now allowed nine runs (eight earned runs) over nine innings against the Dodgers this season.
As for Shohei Ohtani on the mound, he was perfect against the Diamondbacks lineup the first time around while racking up three strikeouts. He was one out away from 10 straight hitless innings since last week, but Gabriel Moreno spoiled the no-hit bid with a two-out, two-strike double down the right field line to give Arizona their first hit. Ohtani got out of the jam by getting Nolan Arenado to ground out.
Ohtani faced the most trouble on the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he allowed a walk and a single to Tommy Troy and Geraldo Perdomo respectively to put two men on base for the first time on the night. Ohtani quickly got out of the jam, getting Corbin Carroll to ground into an inning-ending double play to give the two-way superstar another quality start.
Ohtani has now allowed just two hits and one run while striking out 13 over his last two starts, while Wednesday marked the fifth scoreless start of the year. Ohtani now lowers his ERA on the year to 0.74, the best among all starting pitchers with at least 60 innings.
While Ohtani dazzled on the mound, he reached base five times on a pair of walks and three singles. After May 11, Ohtani’s batting average stood at just .233, but since May 12, Ohtani has multiple hits in 11 of his last 19 games, raising his season average to .301.
Kyle Tucker added a pair of singles to accompany his two-run home run, giving him his first three-hit game since May 17 against the Angels.
Alex Freeland has been hitting well since being called back up from Triple-A, as he collected three hits and added two RBI on a single in the top of the seventh to make it a 7-0 Dodger lead. Freeland is now 6-17 (.353 average) with a home run and four RBI in six games back at the big league level.
With the San Diego Padres dropping their series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers division lead now grows to seven games. The Dodgers now join the Atlanta Braves as the only two teams in baseball with at least 40 wins on the year.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Kyle Tucker (5)
- WP— Shohei Ohtani (6-2): 6 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
- LP— Zac Gallen (3-5): 5 IP, 8 hits, 5 runs (4 earned runs), 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Up next
The Dodgers look to take the series as they wrap things up in Arizona on Thursday (6:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading back home for a three-game set against the Angels. Justin Wrobleski faces Ryne Nelson.
