6:03 AM UTC
LOS ANGELES — After caring for business in opposition to some inferior groups final week, the Dodgers might be met with a a lot stronger process to shut out their present 10-game homestand.
Hosting the Brewers and Marlins, two groups squarely within the combine for the postseason, Los Angeles is getting a firsthand take a look at two opponents the membership might very effectively see when it issues most in October.
But with the best way the Dodgers have been enjoying these days, the opponent hasn’t appeared to matter. They confirmed that once more in a dominant 6-2 win over the Brewers on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, extending their season-long profitable streak to 9 video games.
In addition to this red-hot stretch, the Dodgers additionally improved to 13-1 in August, the most effective mark within the Majors.
“I know it’s hard to win a Major League baseball game,” mentioned Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts. “Regardless of opponent, regardless of who we’re playing against, we just have to play good baseball.”
Rookie right-hander Bobby Miller has taken fairly the step in his growth during the last couple of weeks, discovering his consistency and studying how one can combine his pitches rather more effectively.
On Tuesday, Miller allowed a leadoff single to Christian Yelich and a stroll to William Contreras to start out the sport. Yelich would come round to attain on a Sal Frelick RBI groundout, however Miller responded by retiring 18 consecutive hitters by six stellar frames.
“If I just command the ball, I think I can be a ‘count -on’ guy,” Miller mentioned. “I’m just trying to prove myself that I can be a ‘count-on’ guy and the guy I want to be. So just go out there and compete every day, keep the head down, keep the tunnel vision and stay commanding the baseball.”
Miller, who allowed only one run and struck out 4 over six innings, didn’t get loads of swing-and-miss — solely recording eight whiffs on 74 pitches — however the flamethrower was in a position to keep away from loud contact all through the night time, giving up simply 5 hard-hit balls. His four-seam fastball had its ordinary life on Tuesday, particularly on a 100.6 mph heater to strike out Willy Adames to finish the fourth.
“He has great makeup on the mound, great attitude and obviously a power arm with really good offspeed pitches,” mentioned utilityman Kiké Hernández. “There are outings like tonight that you can’t really tell how young he is. He’s doing a great job, and you can tell he keeps getting better with every start and he has a hell of a future ahead of him.”
Despite Miller at simply 74 pitches, Roberts determined six innings was sufficient for the teenager and referred to as upon Ryan Yarbrough to navigate the ultimate 9 outs of the victory. Though Miller was cruising, Roberts mentioned they’re going to proceed to prioritize limiting workloads — particularly Miller’s — over the following six weeks because the Dodgers take pleasure in what’s at the moment a nine-game cushion atop the National League West standings.
“I’ll be the first to tell you that there’s no exact science to it,” Roberts mentioned. “But I do know that all innings, all pitches, number of pitches, aren’t created equal. I think for us to really talk through this situation with Bobby and appreciate that is important. The No. 1 goal is for his health, and to have plenty more of that through October.”
Offensively, the Dodgers received off to a gradual begin, being held scoreless by the primary 4 innings by Milwaukee starter Adrian Houser. In the fifth, nevertheless, they have been in a position to break by on a Miguel Rojas RBI single. The following body, the Dodgers’ offense as soon as once more confirmed how potent it may be, getting contributions up and down the lineup en path to a five-spot to interrupt the sport open.
Hernández delivered the massive blow, a pinch-hit, two-run single off left-hander Hoby Milner. Since buying Hernández and Amed Rosario earlier than the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline, the Dodgers have been matching up higher in opposition to opposing pitchers. Pinch-hitting in key conditions is just not a straightforward factor to do, however the Dodgers are making every little thing look straightforward over the previous few weeks.
“Winning is fun and we’ve done a lot of that lately,” Hernández mentioned. “We’re going to try and keep it going and try to keep having fun while we’re at it.”
