The Los Angeles Dodgers had an unexpected quiet trade deadline day, but recent acquisitions Lance Lynn and Kiké Hernández factored prominently in their 7-3 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Although the Athletics entered with the worst record in baseball and starter Ken Waldichuk had a 6.38 ERA, the game remained scoreless until the Dodgers erupted for four runs in the fourth inning.
Their rally of sports began when Freddie Freeman led off with a base hit, which was nearly stranded. After Will Smith and Amed Rosario both struck out, Max Muncy kept the inning alive with a walk.
Chris Taylor also walked and James Outman was hit by a pitch to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. That marked the end of the night for Waldichuk, but going to Tayler Scott didn’t slow the Dodgers as Hernández delivered a bases-clearing double.
Provided with a lead, Lynn continued to work on a shutout until surrendering a home run to Zack Gelof in the sixth inning. The A’s connected on two more solo home runs in the seventh, with Brent Rooker and Jordan Diaz adding onto Lynn’s long ball woes this season.
While it was a bumpy ending to Lynn’s start, he became the first Dodgers pitcher to complete seven innings since Clayton Kershaw did so against the Los Angeles Angels on June 20.
Lynn finished with seven strikeouts and five overall hits allowed.
Mookie Betts helped provide some cushion with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh. Betts’ 28th homer of the season came after he missed the past two games because of right ankle soreness.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Betts could have played Sunday, but the team decided to keep him out of the lineup in favor of resting three days in a row.
Outman created more separation by drawing a walk with the bases loaded, giving him a second RBI without swinging. Freeman further padded the lead with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth.
Dodgers trade deadline recap
The Dodgers fell short of acquiring Justin Verlander or Eduardo Rodriguez, and instead completed a trade for Ryan Yarbrough. Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa were traded to the Kansas City Royals.
The Dodgers also traded Justin Bruihl to the Colorado Rockies, and Phil Bickford and Adam Kolarek to the New York Mets.
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