When the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Lance Lynn, he was in the midst of the worst season of his career, posting a 6.47 ERA in 119.2 innings for the Chicago White Sox, making him the least-effective starting pitcher in baseball.
But with the Dodgers, Lynn has been on a completely different level, pitching to a 1.44 ERA in four starts while also throwing 25 innings. He helped lead the club to a series sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers with seven shutout innings on Thursday night.
“To be honest, they were swinging early so we just kept attacking,” Lynn said of his outing. “We stayed in communication between innings and we just kind of kept getting after them. Defense made great plays and we just kind of kept rolling. Got ourselves in a little trouble there and started mixing in some offspeed stuff.
“It worked out well for us tonight. (Austin) Barnes hit the huge homer late so it was a big night for him.”
Lynn did run into some trouble in the sixth inning when back-to-back singles from Tyrone Taylor and Christian Yelich runners at the corners with nobody out. William Contreras then hit a comebacker to Lynn, who was able to record the out at home and prevent the first run of the game from scoring.
“Right when I checked him, he stopped, and then when I was about to turn and throw it to second, I saw him take off,” Lynn explained of the play.
“I was like, ‘Alright, we’ll get the out at home and go from there.’ It worked out well. We were able to not give up any that inning, and had a great play by Freddie afterwards. It was a good night all the way around. When you win 1-0 it’s usually good plays and things like that.”
Lynn was able to get out of the inning unscathed, despite the single from Yelich increasing the Brewers’ win probability by nearly 13% to 68.2%. As one of the most competitive pitchers in baseball, the 36-year-old showed some emotion when he came off the mound.
“It’s always fun,” Lynn said. “You’ve got first and third, nobody out, and don’t give up any. There’s a little luck there but also it was good.”
With the White Sox, that’s an inning that likely would have gotten away from the team and led to their downfall, but with the Dodgers, Lynn has been aided by better game planning and pitch calling, more talented teammates with better defense and just some improved luck overall.
The veteran was hopeful a fresh start would help him get out of the “weird year” which led to falling into a funk, and so far that’s exactly what’s happening.
“I think just better results, better luck and great defense behind me,” Lynn said of the differences between pitching for the Dodgers and White Sox. “A little bit of everything. It’s been fun out here, especially pitching in front of the home crowd. Three of my four have been here.
“It’s fun to pitch at this ballpark. I’ve always enjoyed it, but it’s definitely a lot better as a home player.”
Lance Lynn gets adrenaline boost from Dodger Stadium
Lynn is having a great time pitching for the Dodgers and has already bought into the team’s culture. He is also experiencing one of the best atmospheres in baseball with more than 40,000 fans at nearly every game, which is providing him with an adrenaline boost while he’s on the mound.
“I mean, probably,” Lynn said when asked if he’s getting more adrenaline at Dodger Stadium. “But it’s not something I go in knowing that it’s going to happen or anything like that. I feel good right now physically. I’m making pitches, working well with the catchers and there’s great defense behind me, so it’s easy to pitch.”
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