Tyler Anderson found himself in a familiar position on Monday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen stood to benefit from some relief.
Such was the case when Anderson started May 12 against the Philadelphia Phillies, and again five days later when he faced the Arizona Diamondbacks. On an extra day of rest at Nationals Park, the left-hander turned in his best performance of the season.
The Dodgers provided Anderson with plenty of run support as he held the Washington Nationals scoreless over a season-high eight innings. Anderson also collected eight strikeouts, his most this year, and had a perfect game until César Hernández doubled with one out in the sixth inning.
Despite dominating throughout his start, Anderson said the thought of possibly throwing a perfect game never crept into his mind, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Not a lot,” Anderson said when asked how much he was thinking about his perfect game chances. “That’s pretty early. If I was really concerned, I think you probably don’t throw a fastball 3-1 (to Hernandez). You try to stay a little more stingy there. Throw a changeup or something. But in that situation, we’ve got a big lead. My job is to throw as many innings as I can.”
Hernández’s double was followed by an Alcides Escobar single, but Anderson stranded both runners by inducing an inning-ending double play.
When the Nationals loaded the bases in the seventh, Freddie Freeman made a running catch on a soft line drive hit just beyond first base. Anderson punctuated his outing by striking out the side in the eighth inning.
Tyler Anderson streaking
The 32-year-old southpaw has now turned in back-to-back starts of at least seven innings since doing so June 7 and 13, 2018. Furthermore, Anderson has allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of eight games this season, and has a scoreless streak of 14 innings.
He walked off to a standing ovation from Dodgers fans that were in attendance at Nationals Park.
Dodgers perfect game
Had Anderson gone unblemished, it would’ve been just the second perfect game in Dodgers franchise history.
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