Walker Buehler was utterly dominant as he remained undefeated at Dodger Stadium this season and the Los Angeles Dodgers flexed their muscles in a 9-0 shut out of the Miami Marlins to complete a three-game series sweep.
Buehler allowed a pair of singles in the first two innings but negated them by collecting six strikeouts during that span. Jordan Yamamoto’s grounder to first base to lead off the third inning was the first ball the Marlins put in play that resulted in an out.
Buehler fell off his torrid pace but kept his efficiency and retired 13 batters in a row before allowing a two-out single to Garrett Cooper in the sixth inning. Perhaps feeling the sting of the bullpen squandering a 6-0 lead Saturday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts permitted Buehler to bat for himself with a runner in scoring position and one out in the bottom half of the sixth.
A noteworthy difference in the scenarios — aside from the eventual bullpen usage that came about — was Kershaw had thrown 97 pitches, compared to just 78 for Buehler up to that point. Buehler got through a seventh scoreless inning and finished with 11 strikeouts.
The Dodgers immediately provided Buehler with a lead, as Max Muncy lifted an opposite-field two-run home run in the first inning. It was the first homer Jordan Yamamoto allowed in his young career, but it was not the last of the afternoon.
Joc Pederson turned on an inside pitch to lift a two-run home run into the visitor’s bullpen, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0 in the third inning. Kiké Hernandez provided insurance with an RBI single in the fourth, and A.J. Pollock’s base hit drove in a run in the fifth.
Pollock later tacked on a three-run homer to blow the game wide open. The Dodgers have now hit at least one home run in 79 games this season.
Five of their runs were charged to Yamamoto in his four innings of work. It was the first time in seven starts this season he allowed more than two runs in an outing.
Not for nothing, the Dodgers played a clean game defensively to snap a streak at seven consecutive games with at least two errors.
