The Los Angeles Dodgers ran away with Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees, scoring 11 runs and seven in the final two innings. Manager Dave Roberts got a solid outing out of starter Gavin Stone but it was Alex Vesia who garnered attention for his performance on the mound.
Vesia came in to relieve Stone in the sixth inning in a high-leverage situation. The Dodgers held a 4-2 lead, but Stone exited with the bases loaded. Roberts turned to Vesia to record one out without giving up a run against Anthony Volpe, and the lefty delivered.
Vesia then pitched a perfect seventh inning — including a strike out of Aaron Judge — which led directly to a four-run eighth from L.A. Vesia spoke about what the win meant and how confident the Dodgers are regardless of their opponent, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“We’re here to play,” Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia said. “We come out here and believe we can beat anybody. Doesn’t matter what we did yesterday. It’s just what we’re doing in the present day. One pitch at a time for the pitchers, one out at a time. For the hitters — let’s rake.”
While the offense scoring seven runs late is what gave the Dodgers the easy win, Roberts credited Vesia for keeping L.A. on track with his appearance:
“That kind of flipped the game for us and the offense took off from there,” Roberts said.
Vesia has been remarkable for the Dodgers this season, and Saturday was just another example of the way in which he can impact a game. Getting Stone out of the bases-loaded jam and following it up with another perfect inning set the Dodgers up for success and gave them fuel in a big winning effort.
Alex Vesia adjustments
Vesia has a strong history of being a top option out of the Dodgers bullpen, but his career with the team has included stretches where he’s struggled.
That occurred earlier this season, but Vesia has since rebounded after continued work with Dodgers pitching coaches.
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