Well, here’s hoping the post-deadline arbitrary endpoint goes better than the post-All-Star break one, and it’s certainly off to a better start. Clayton Kershaw pitched six shutout innings, Freddie Freeman homered for his second game in a row and drove in three, and Justin Wrobleski got a three-inning save to spare the pen as the Dodgers won 5-0 over the Rays.
======
The game got off to a great start in the 1st, as Shohei Ohtani drew a one-out walk on a full count, Will Smith followed with a double, and then Freddie Freeman smacked a double of his own to make it 2-0.
Freddie knocks in a pair! pic.twitter.com/Xmixjf4Doe
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 1, 2025
Nothing more came of that rally, and their next chance in the 3rd via a one-out single — that was more of a life-saving choice by Brandon Lowe, really — and walk also went for naught.
Brandon Lowe prioritizes his life over getting this out. Valid. pic.twitter.com/Qz1IJyUyWm
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2025
Fortunately, they started cashing in again soon. A one-out Michael Conforto double was followed by a Tommy Edman infield single to corner them up, and Alex Freeland delivered his first career MLB RBI on a single to drive in Conforto.
¡Primera carrera producida en la gran carpa para Alex! pic.twitter.com/CdB1CgDSZq
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) August 2, 2025
A Mookie Betts sacrifice fly followed to make it 4-0, and he was putting together some better at-bats so far in the game.
Gentle parenting Mookie. It is actually better, lol. https://t.co/9Lm2Sf1EB4 pic.twitter.com/N5XeQH8wWB
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2025
The Dodgers added another run to their lead in the 5th, as Freddie Freeman hit his 12th homer to make it 5-0.
A no-doubter from Freddie. ? pic.twitter.com/pVrZLJIq7A
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 2, 2025
Unfortunately, the bats basically shut it down from there, as 15 of the last 16 batters were retired. Fortunately, it didn’t matter.
——
The Dodgers needed a quality start against a depleted Rays, and Clayton Kershaw delivered that. After giving up just a one-out single in the 1st, the 2nd started with some bad luck on a pair of groundball singles, but he managed to navigate around the traffic and kept the Rays off the board.
Moriyama impact. https://t.co/HXiB3fgVEo
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2025
In the 3rd, he pitched around a two-out single and a wild pitch, and then had clean frames in both the 4th and 5th. Arguably he should’ve had one in the 6th as well, as he got a pair of outs and a grounder to Mookie that he threw wide of the target. That led to trouble after a wild pitch advanced him to second and a shot down the line, but Freeland knocked that ball down for an infield single, which saved a run after Kershaw got the final out of the inning and his outing.
6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 88 Pitches
Justin Wrobleski took over for Kershaw in the 7th and was simply dominant. He notched a save with three shutout innings, including five strikeouts and only gave up a single during his time on the mound.
Justin Wrobleski secures the save with by striking out five and getting nine outs from 10 batters (two-out single in the 9th #SMH). pic.twitter.com/8U23FJJT56
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2025
Promising.
======
Because MLB truly hates me, tomorrow’s game starts at 7:10 AM HT/10:10 AM PT/1:10 PM ET. It’ll be Blake Snell making his return from the IL against his old team and Drew Rasmussen.
