Flaherty delivers another victory for Dodgers

09/08/2024 08:08 PM

LOS ANGELES  – His stay with the Dodgers has been brief, barely a month. But right-hander Jack Flaherty has quickly become a solid member of an injury-plagued rotation. In six starts with the Dodgers, he had gone 4-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

Flaherty further solidified his reputation and importance to the Dodgers' staff Sunday with a strong outing against the Cleveland Guardians as Shohei Ohtani moved closer to the 50/50 club with his 46th home run.

Flaherty (12-6) shut out the Guardians, 4-0, on five hits in 7 1/3 innings as temperatures reached a blistering 104 degrees at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers landed Flaherty at the deadline, along with utilityman Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech.

"He's been great, it's been huge," Robert said of acquiring Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers. "In the sense of stabilizing the rotation when it hasn't been so stable this season. Just being able to go out there, give us some length, get us to the sixth inning, and a touch into the seventh inning. I feel great with the way he prepares."

Roberts sent out Flaherty to start the eighth, a risky move considering the number of injuries to the Dodgers pitchers this season. All 17 of their pitchers have been on the Injured List at various times this season.

After giving up a hard-hit single to Tyler Freeman, Roberts replaced Flaherty with Kopech.

Flaherty ended his day by retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced to pick up his fifth victory with his new team.

The team did not hold batting practice for a third consecutive day given the triple-digit temperatures. Roberts said he wanted to minimize their outdoor activity this weekend.

The lack of pregame activity didn't slow the Dodgers' offense, which scored 12 runs over the weekend. The Dodgers have the sixth-best batting average in the majors (.254).

The Dodgers collected six hits off four Guardian pitchers, starting with Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani gave the Dodgers their first hit when he landed a fly ball in center field in the third inning. Then in an occurrence rarer than Haley's Comet, the Dodgers star was picked off by Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee's throw to first.

Ohtani is second in the league in stolen bases with 46 and is chasing Major League history, seeking to become the first player to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.

Betts got the Dodgers their second hit with a hard-hit triple off Guardians starter Bibee (Mission Viejo High/Cal State Fullerton) that bounced off the right field wall, celebrating with an arms-raised hop on the bag, and Will Smith got them their first run when he singled home Betts to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

The Dodgers kept the rally going. With one out, they loaded the bases when Max Muncy, who walked, went to second on Smith's hit and Edman walked. After a visit from the pitching coach, Bibee settled down and retired the next two batters to escape further damage.

With one out in the fifth, Ohtani got back to pursuing history. He lofted an 86-mph fastball that narrowly flew by the foul pole. A review showed that he had indeed recorded his 46th home of the season, leaving him four home runs shy of the 50/50 mark, and giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Bibee, who was facing the Dodgers for the first time since joining the league, was pulled after five, having allowed two runs on two hits, walking three and striking out four.

Bibee (11-7) had given up one earned run in three of his previous five outings, with all of those starts on the road.

The Dodgers added two runs in the eighth. Muncy made it 3-0 with his 12th home run. The Dodgers got their final score when Will Smith doubled scored on Taylor's two-out single to right.