The Los Angeles Dodgers were unable to complete the Freeway Series sweep as they lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 10-1, in a game that featured two completely different starting pitcher outcomes.
For Bobby Miller, things started off bad, and quickly got worse. The first three batters he faced all reached with a walk, hit-by-pitch and single.
With the bases loaded and no one out, Anthony Rendon singled home a pair of runs. With two runners still on, Mickey Moniak blasted a three-run homer, giving the Angels a 5-0 lead before most fans could get into their seats.
Miller settled in a bit after that, striking out the next three hitters he faced and retiring 12 of the next 13 batters he faced, including nine straight. However, the one batter who reached did so with a home run in the second inning that made it a 6-0 game.
Miller’s streak of retiring hitters ended in the fifth when Taylor Ward blasted a solo home run. Miller followed that up by walking two more hitters before recording a double play that helped him get out of the inning.
His day ended with five innings pitched, allowing seven runs on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts. Miller’s rough outing comes after it was revealed he’s pitching through a knee injury, and another poor start his last time out, which has been an all too common theme for him.
Michael Petersen allowed three runs in the eighth.
On the other side, Griffin Canning turned in a fantastic start for the Angels. Canning pitched 6.1 innings while allowing just one run on four hits. He walked four batters and struck out seven.
The first hit was a single by Gavin Lux in the second inning, but that was followed by two strikeouts. Mookie Betts also singled in the fourth, but was immediately erased from the bases with a double play.
The Dodgers did not have a single runner get into scoring position against Canning for the first six innings, but that changed when Gavin Lux singled and Tommy Edman walked.
Andy Pages put the Dodgers on the board with a single, and that closed the night on Canning. Hunter Strikland entered and stranded two Dodgers in scoring position.
Bobby Miller makes final start for Dodgers?
Prior to the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Landon Knack will be joining the rotation on Friday in place of Clayton Kershaw. Following that, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is coming back to the rotation on Tuesday after his second rehab outing.
The Dodgers will need to clear two roster spots, with one of them being a starting pitcher. That means Miller is likely the odd man out on Friday when Knack joins the team, which would allow them to keep an extra reliever until Yamamoto joins them.
That sets up a Dodgers rotation of Yamamoto, Knack, Jack Flaherty, Gavin Stone and Walker Buehler moving forward.
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