Tonight started a weird five-game road trip that includes three off days in a week, and the matchup seemed like it could be a pitchers’ duel. Indeed that’s exactly what it was as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jacob deGrom went toe-to-toe over seven innings, with Yamamoto making one less mistake, as Tommy Edman‘s lead-off homer ended up holding up in a 3-0 shutout victory.
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The scoring in the game got off to a quick start, as Rangers starter Jacob deGrom was greeted rudely by new lead-off hitter Tommy Edman — who technically actually has more homer pop than Shohei Ohtani and everybody else in the NL this year — as he smashed his seventh homer to make it 1-0.
LEADING OFF, TOMMY EDMAN! pic.twitter.com/NBQ6kiY02Y
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2025
After that? Not much of anything, as the Dodgers didn’t get a RISP against deGrom all game. They managed a two-out single in the 2nd, a two-out walk in the 3rd, and a lead-off single in the 6th (erased by a caught stealing), but that was it through seven.
Not great.
Fortunately, Yoshinobu Yamamoto continued to meet the moment as the new Dodgers ace and a potential NL Cy Young Award candidate.
He started with a pair of strikeouts in the 1st that set the whiff-happy tone, and then worked around a one-out double in the 2nd. The main danger Yamamoto faced came in the 3rd and with two outs, as a single was followed by a double that looked like it might find the gap and score the runner, but Michael Conforto cut the ball off and saved the run. That proved all the more important when a groundout followed to help Yamamoto escape the jam.
Due to a groundout that followed, which ended the threat, Michael Conforto cutting this ball off preserved the lead. pic.twitter.com/26ggo6YMRl
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) April 19, 2025
It got even more important as the game went on and more zeros were posted. A two-out double in the 4th wasn’t much, and that was followed by a nine-pitch 5th. After another clean frame in the 6th, a one-out single to a speedy baserunner provided some excitement, but even that was erased quickly by a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play to dramatically end his outing.
Yamamoto gets through 7 shutout with a strike ’em out throw ’em out double play and his 10th strikeout. pic.twitter.com/mocmAgeeqo
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) April 19, 2025
Just a masterful outing when they needed it most: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, 102 Pitches.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 7 shutout, 10 strikeout gem to outduel Jacob deGrom. pic.twitter.com/ONq4NFBfNm
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) April 19, 2025
From there the pens took over, but the Dodger offense didn’t get anything going in the 8th against the Rangers pen. Things went similarly the other way around, as Kirby Yates pitching against his old team posted a dominant clean inning in the 8th with a pair of strikeouts.
The Dodgers managed to breakthrough a bit in the 9th when Edman reached on an infield single and advanced to second when the ball got away from the first baseman to put a RISP with nobody out. A groundout to the right side from Mookie Betts moved him over to third, and the Rangers put Freddie Freeman on for matchup reasons and hoping to roll a double play. Instead, Teoscar Hernandez caught on to their gameplan of attacking him away and poked a single to right for an insurance run, making it 2-0.
¡A banda contraria y Teoscar se trajo una al plato! pic.twitter.com/MyNuTe4cIT
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) April 19, 2025
A walk to Michael Conforto followed to load the bases, and Will Smith fought off four 0-2 pitches before doing his specialty and lifting a sac fly to make it 3-0.
Yeah. pic.twitter.com/BvepEMvugR
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) April 19, 2025
Closing things out was Tanner Scott, who looked … not great. A lead-off single was followed by what looked like another hit, but Max Muncy saved the day at third with a great play for the first out.
Max Muncy with a defensive gem to prevent the tying run from reaching base. pic.twitter.com/coMjwCwKqQ
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) April 19, 2025
The tying run still got to the plate as another single followed to put a pair on, but it was Muncy again to bail out Scott by making a great play down the line in left for a game-ending double play.
Max Muncy then ends the game with the tying run at the plate by starting a double play. Bacon saved. pic.twitter.com/nbCy6U6MIw
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) April 19, 2025
How did this baseball swerve back into fair territory? 🤨
Tough final out in the low-scoring Dodgers-Rangers series opener. pic.twitter.com/5uphwx1Yk2
— Victory+ (@victoryplustv) April 19, 2025
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15-6, good enough for second place in the NL West.
Due to the weekend, tomorrow’s game will be some hours earlier at 10:05 AM HT/1:05 PM PT/4:05 PM, and it’ll be on FOX. So of course it’ll be Roki Sasaki for the national audience against very old friend Nathan Eovaldi.
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