The Los Angeles Dodgers could not solve Yu Darvish as they lost 4-0 to the San Diego Padres, dropping the rubber match and bringing an end to their series winning streak.
The Dodgers had won five consecutive series entering Sunday, but their season struggles against the Padres continued. They are now 3-5 against San Diego in 2024, including two series losses and a split in the Seoul Series.
The pitching on both sides was the story of the game as they had nearly opposite starts. Walker Buehler struggled in his second start of the season, while Darvish was dominant.
Darvish had a perfect game going through four innings, and the Dodgers did not have a baserunner until Andy Pages worked a two-out walk in the fifth. That was followed by Kiké Hernández singling to break up the no-hitter.
He ended up throwing seven shutout innings, allowing just three baserunners and striking out seven. It was a much better outing than when Darvish went just 3.2 innings on Opening Day in South Korea against the Dodgers, and he has historically given them some trouble.
Buehler lasted just 3.1 innings and exited with the bases loaded in the fourth. He ended up allowing just three runs, thanks to some help from the Dodgers defense and Ryan Yarbrough for getting him out of the jam with just one run scoring.
Buehler lacked command throughout the start, walking two and giving up back-to-back home runs to Fernando Tatís Jr. and Jake Cronenworth, while also allowing five hits and striking out two.
His stuff was still down from where it was when he was an ace with his spin rate on the fastball sitting around league average. It’s only his second start after not pitching in nearly two years, but his ERA now sits at 7.36.
The short outing required the Dodgers to utilize somewhat of a bullpen game, with most of the relievers doing their job without a run scoring, except for Gus Varland, who allowed a solo home run to Xander Bogaerts.
The Dodgers had a few chances to score a run or tie the game, but they went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five on base.
Shohei Ohtani was out of Dodgers lineup
On Saturday, Shohei Ohtani felt his back tighten up, and he ended up being pinch-hit for in the ninth inning. For precautionary reasons, he was out of the lineup on Sunday, but there is no concern that it will be an issue long-term.
Ohtani is expected to be back in the lineup on Monday against the San Francisco Giants.
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