By Earl Heath | Contributing Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES — After a rough stretch, the Los Angeles Dodgers found a needed reset behind strong starting pitching and timely hitting.
Tyler Glasnow and Tanner Scott combined on a one-hitter as the Dodgers avoided a three-game series sweep with a 3-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. Glasnow was dominant, striking out nine and allowing just one hit and one walk over eight scoreless innings. He threw 105 pitches, 69 for strikes, and retired the final 14 batters he faced. Scott handled the ninth inning for his first save of the season.
The win gave the Dodgers their second shutout of the season and helped them leave San Francisco with a measure of momentum after a difficult road series.
Kyle Tucker and Hyeseong Kim had two hits apiece, while Kim and Dalton Rushing each drove in a run. Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts, continuing a brief skid at the plate.
The Dodgers then returned home and took two of three from the Chicago Cubs, showing signs of balance from both the lineup and pitching staff.
After dropping the series opener, 6-4, Los Angeles bounced back in a big way. Roki Sasaki earned his second major league victory as the Dodgers erupted for six runs in the fourth inning and beat the Cubs, 12-4, snapping Chicago’s 10-game winning streak.
Ohtani ended an 0-for-12 skid with a first-inning single and stole second base for just his second steal of the season. He was one of several Dodgers to contribute as Los Angeles collected 14 hits and set a season high for runs at home.
Sasaki gave up four runs, including solo home runs by Seiya Suzuki, Moisés Ballesteros and Miguel Amaya, but battled through his longest outing of the year. The Japanese right-hander struck out five and threw a career-high 99 pitches on his bobblehead night.
The Dodgers’ offense kept the pressure on. After scoring six times in the fourth, they added four more runs in the sixth. Andy Pages delivered a two-run double, then later scored on a wild pitch.
Los Angeles closed the series with another statement from the mound. Justin Wrobleski tossed six scoreless innings in a 6-0 win Sunday, becoming the first Dodgers pitcher since 2009 to win his first four starts. Wrobleski allowed four hits, struck out six and walked four while throwing a career-high 109 pitches.
Wrobleski and Cubs starter Shota Imanaga both struggled with command early, combining to throw 100 pitches through the first two innings. But Wrobleski settled in, and the Dodgers gave him enough support to cruise.
Ohtani added a highlight in the seventh, driving an opposite-field home run to left-center field on the first pitch from Hoby Milner. The 382-foot shot cut through the wind and ended Ohtani’s homerless stretch. He finished 3 for 4 with a walk and scored twice.
Dalton Rushing added an RBI single, and Kyle Tucker scored after a pickoff error by Cubs catcher Carson Kelly.
After losing four of five, the Dodgers responded by winning three of their next four, including two shutouts. With the pitching staff settling in and the lineup beginning to wake up, Los Angeles steadied the ship at an important point early in the season.