Walker Buehler’s second time on the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks this season went far better than the first.
Buehler on Monday held the Diamondbacks to a run on two hits in eight innings, matching the longest start of his career, while Corey Seager hit a three-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 3-1.
The National League West-leading Dodgers won their sixth straight, improving to 42-19. The Diamondbacks saw their two-game winning streak halted.
Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA Today
Buehler (6-1) lasted just three innings at Dodger Stadium on March 31 against Arizona, but carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth and got the first two outs before Christian Walker homered.
Buehler struck out a season-high 11 without a walk for his first career win over the Diamondbacks.
“The efficiency is the biggest thing for me,” the 24-year-old right-hander said. “I think I’m going to strike guys out in this league and I’ve kind of shown that. To get deeper into games is obviously my goal.”
Seager hit a full-count pitch from Arizona starter Robbie Ray (4-3) out to left-center field in the top of the fourth to break a scoreless tie. Justin Turner singled and David Freese walked with one out ahead of Seager’s eighth homer of the season.
Going into the game, Seager was three for 26 in his career against Ray.
“He’s a tough matchup,” Seager said. “Kind of tried a bunch of different things and didn’t have success against it, and still trying to figure out how to grind out some at-bats against him. He’s good.”
Walker almost had his second hit with one out in the eighth, but Chris Taylor reached up and caught his line drive in deep center field.
Buehler struck out Carson Kelly to end the eighth and walked to the visitors’ dugout to a standing ovation from Dodgers fans.
“Wasn’t stressed at all, because he was just so efficient in his delivery, but honestly it was the fastball on both sides of the plate that was just dominant and missing bats all night long,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“Buehler in LA was still coming back from a short spring training and wasn’t at full strength, and you could see what he is capable of doing,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was pretty impressive.”
Arizona failed to provide enough run support for Ray, who gave up three runs on six hits in seven innings and struck out nine.
“It felt like my command was as good as it has been all year,” Ray said. “I was pounding the zone, keeping them off balance with my off-speed, honestly just one bad pitch.”
Kenley Jansen worked the ninth inning for his 18th save in 20 chances.
David Peralta, the Diamondbacks’ leading hitter this season, returned to the lineup for the first time since May 21. He missed 11 games with a sprained right shoulder.
Turner was in the starting lineup for the first time since May 29 and he had two hits.
Also on Monday, it was:
‧ Cubs 8, Angels 1
‧ Padres 8, Phillies 2
‧ Astros 4, Mariners 2
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS