The Los Angeles Dodgers had their 12-game winning streak snapped by the Kansas City Royals thanks in part to a brilliant start turned in by Brady Singer.
The 26-year-old entered the game with a 2.45 ERA, and he continued to build on that success by taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning. It was broken up by Chris Taylor with a single, which was the only hit Singer allowed over six shutout innings.
Without hits from either of MLB’s top two hit leaders, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner, the Dodgers were held scoreless for only the fifth time this season.
Freeman credited the right-hander for having a solid gameplan and mixing his pitches well, which left the Dodgers guessing, via SportsNet LA:
“As a lefty (batter), he’s really good at the two-seamer in. So he makes you conscious in, which opens up his slider away. He threw a lot more sliders than I was expecting. He was about 55% heaters, and I think I only got two or three heaters in three at-bats. He just mixed really well, hit 94 to 96 (mph) with frontdoor, so it kind of opened it up if you were looking in.”
Although the Dodgers fell short of tying the L.A. franchise record of a 13-game winning streak, Freeman said the team was more disappointed by being shut out, but noted they have to turn their attention to the Milwaukee Brewers:
“We knew we weren’t going to win every game, but we don’t like getting shut out as an offense. Plain and simple. But we still won the series, you’ve got to look at it like that sometimes. We’ve got a tough series in Milwaukee with their starting pitchers, so we’ve just got to turn the page and get ready for Freddy.”
Despite the shutout, the Dodgers still lead MLB with a +247 run differential and 610 runs scored. Against the Brewers, they’ll face one one of MLB’s most talented rotations with Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Eric Lauer.
Dustin May hoping to help Dodgers rotation
The Dodgers starting rotation has been decimated by injuries this season, but Dustin May and several key contributors are expected to return in the coming weeks.
May has not thrown a pitch in a Major League game since last May after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) that required Tommy John surgery, but he has since made five rehab starts and he is set to join the Dodgers for their series with the Marlins this weekend.
With his return, May is hoping to prove he is completely healthy and can record meaningful outs for the Dodgers in the stretch run.
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