The Los Angeles Dodgers concluded their homestand Wednesday night with another victory, extending their winning streak to five games. Included in that stretch are games started by rookies Jose De Leon, Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling and Brock Stewart.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the first time in franchise history that the Dodgers won four consecutive games with a rookie starting pitcher earning the win in each game. The last team to accomplish the rare feat was the Oakland Athletics (Sept. 9-12, 2012).
“All those young guys have given us quality starts, good outings, competing out there, and they’re really growing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the streak was complete. “This is definitely a crash course, nice immersion into the big leagues.”
De Leon made his Major League debut on Sunday, throwing six innings and allowing four runs (three earned). He struck out nine and showed much of the same swing-and-miss pitch mix that flummoxed hitters at the Triple-A level this season.
De Leon’s nine strikeouts finished one shy of matching a Los Angeles franchise record set by Pedro Astacio (1992) and Kazuhisa Ishii (2002) for most strikeouts during an MLB debut.
Maeda’s inclusion in the rookie classification comes with a grain of salt as he pitched seven seasons in Japan. Nonetheless, the 28-year-old has needed to adjust to life as Major League pitcher, and Maeda has done so seamlessly.
He held the Arizona Diamondbacks to just one run on three hits and had eight strikeouts over 6.1 innings pitched. Maeda retired 18 batters in a row after issuing a leadoff walk in the first inning. His performance was key in outlasting Zack Greinke, who eventually came undone and allowed a career-high five home runs.
Although Stripling only turned in five innings on Tuesday, he limited the Diamondbacks to a pair of runs on three hits. Stripling also helped his cause with an RBI single in the second inning to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. The RBI was the first of Stripling’s career.
Stewart wasn’t particularly sharp but navigated his way through plenty of traffic. The Diamondbacks had the leadoff man reach in the second, third and fourth innings, but only had one run to show for it.
Stewart’s five innings of work was good enough for the right-hander to earn his first career win. While Maeda has been a mainstay in the rotation all season long, Stripling and Stewart and have capitalized on their opportunities.
The same may soon be said for De Leon, as he’s now likely to start in the series against the New York Yankees. De Leon’s immediate future was tied to how Scott Kazmir fared in a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Kazmir was unable to get out of the first inning and was removed due to a setback in his neck/right rib cage area. Kazmir was sent back to Los Angeles to be examined.
The abundance of call-ups hasn’t led to the young players making it a central talking point. “Not too much, a little joking around about it here and there,” Stewart said. “I didn’t realize [rookies’ franchise record] stat, it’s definitely something special. Hopefully all of us young guys can keep going.”
