The Los Angeles Dodgers had not enjoyed much success against the other division leaders this season, losing 11 of the previous 12 matchups heading into this weekend’s three-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.
But the Dodgers have found an answer against the American League East leaders, dominating the first two games of the series to put themselves on the verge of a sweep on Sunday afternoon.
Los Angeles won the opener 5-1 on Friday, and the National League West leaders played even better on Saturday, running away with a 9-1 victory.
“We’ve put together two complete ballgames,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Really, really pleased.”
Clayton Kershaw held the Blue Jays to one run over six innings on Friday, and Blake Snell followed with five shutout innings on Saturday.
On Sunday, it will be Tyler Glasnow’s turn after the Dodgers announced on Saturday that they were moving the right-hander up a day to give Yoshinobu Yamamoto an extra day to prepare for Monday’s series opener at the Los Angeles Angels.
“This is how you can go on a run, where (Sunday) we got Glass, who’s throwing the baseball well, and then we got Yama going on Monday,” Roberts said. “This is where you can make hay.”
Glasnow (1-1, 3.06 ERA) has gone nine consecutive starts without a win after beating the Atlanta Braves in his season opener on March 31. He pitched well enough to win his most recent start last Monday, however, allowing just one run and three hits over seven innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
He departed with the score 1-1, and the Dodgers eventually lost 3-2.
“This is how we hoped it would play out as far as, every night, you see the probables and you have a chance to really prevent runs,” Roberts said. “Then you look at the lineup, and we feel like we have a lot of opportunities to score, and so then you’ve got to go play the game.”
Glasnow is 1-4 in 10 career starts against the Blue Jays, with a 6.15 ERA.
Shohei Ohtani homered on Saturday, becoming the first Dodgers player with back-to-back 40-homer seasons since Shawn Green in 2001 and 2002.
Ohtani will face a tough left-hander on Sunday in Eric Lauer (7-2, 2.59 ERA), who is 3-0 in his past four starts with a 2.16 ERA. He most recently held the Colorado Rockies to one run and seven hits over six innings in a 15-1 victory on Monday.
Lauer delivered his best outing of the season on July 24, holding the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers to one run and five hits over eight innings in an 11-4 win.
“You really try to just lock in and make sure that you’re keeping the pace of the game more than anything,” Lauer said. “You’re not going out there worrying about if the game’s close or I can’t let guys score. It’s more like, don’t give up free bases, try to limit damage.”
Lauer has done well against the Dodgers in his career, owning a 7-2 record in 12 career starts, with a 2.63 ERA.
The Blue Jays will need to perform better with runners in scoring position than they have in the series, going 2-for-14 in that scenario.
–Field Level Media
