The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a season-opening sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks behind dominant pitching performances from their starters and relievers.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan and Tyler Glasnow combined to allow eight runs in their respective starts, but it was the bullpen that really stood out with 11.2 scoreless innings to begin the year.
The Dodgers’ relief corps held the Diamondbacks to just five hits during the three-game series. Additionally, Arizona did not score in the final five innings of any matchup.
“Really impressed,” manager Dave Roberts said of the Dodgers bullpen. “I think all of our guys have pitched in big moments.
“So that’s one of those things that we talk about a lot, is you can’t really evaluate completely on Spring Training. Once the lights come on, then the focus gets more acute. And it’s a really good start. We’ve got some really good pitching out of the ‘pen.”
Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen were among the Dodgers relievers who struggled with inconsistency last season, but both are off to encouraging starts this year. They combined to throw 2.1 shutout innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Ben Casparius, Edwin Díaz, Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez, Will Klein and Alex Vesia also had scoreless appearances in the opening series, with only Justin Wrobleski not getting into a game.
Díaz, who signed a three-year, $69 million contract with the Dodgers during the offseason, made an immediate impact by recording back-to-back saves in the final two matchups at Dodger Stadium.
“Yeah, it’s just very tough,” Roberts said. “One of, if not the best closer in the game. And you can see the anticipation of the fans.
“Right when Will hit the homer, everyone’s excited, and they knew what else was to come. So it’s good to see Dodgers fans stick around for nine innings. And I love that Timmy Trumpet, and I kind of got my fan hat on a little bit there too. So it was fun. And having him back-to-back days is huge.”
Dave Roberts happy to have Edwin Díaz as Dodgers closer
Díaz has been one of the best relievers in baseball over the last decade and gives the Dodgers their first established closer since Kenley Jansen.
L.A. did not necessarily need to sign Díaz, but his presence adds an element to the team that wasn’t there when they won back-to-back World Series titles.
“Well, I think what it does is conversely, it’s more of what it does to the opponent,” Roberts said of Díaz. “When you have him looming, and then you take the lead, you have that feeling. I’ve been on the other side of that, and you feel like the game is over.
“And so to have him on our side, it’s huge. And obviously, on our side, we feel very confident.”
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