The Dodgers ended the Reds four-game winning streak, 5-2, and displayed what it takes to be a playoff team.
Ohtani broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with a two-run double over center fielder TJ Friedl’s head. LA leadoff hitter, Betts, got on base three times and scored three runs.
And Yamamoto held the Reds to one run and four hits with two walks and nine strikeouts over seven innings.
Yamamoto’s performance was a tutorial opportunity for Reds rookie pitcher Chase Burns.
Burns pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up three tainted runs and six hits while walking one and striking out 10. He deserved better and would have had a better outcome with some defensive help.
He gave up a first-pitch double to Miguel Rojas to open the fifth inning, then struck out Dalton Rushing. Betts hit a hard ground ball that bounced high off third baseman Noelvi Marte’s glove. It was ruled an error then later changed to a hit.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
With two on, Ohtani ripped the two-run double over Friedl’s head for a 3-1 lead the Dodgers never relinquished.
LA’s first run came in the first inning when Betts led with a double to left. Teoscar Hernandez hit a grounder Marte’s way that skipped past his glove into left field for a run.
So in six MLB starts, Burns is 0-and-3 with a 6.26 earned run average, but manager Tito Francona sees dominance ahead and quickly.
“I thought Burns was terrific,” he told reporters after the game. “He didn’t back down. He challenged them and there’s some pretty good hitters over there in that lineup. He did good.”
It hasn’t been an easy task for Chase with his assignments — The New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Dodgers.
“We’re trying to build for the future with him and win now with him,” said Francona. “I think the kid is doing a really good job, I really do. I think the kid’s future is so bright because there are going to be things he does better. But in the meantime ... we’ll take him.”
Burns pumped 100 and 101 miles per hour fastballs past LA hitters consistently, but one person on the field performed poorly. Plate umpire Andy Fletcher missed a bundle of calls on the corners ... for both teams, but mostly on Burns.
For a 22-year-old neophyte who was pitching for Wake Forest University a little more than a year ago, Burns is mature far beyond those 22 years, even though his 0-and-3 suggests rinse and repeat outings.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“I feel like every start I’m learning and getting better, even though the results don’t show,” he said. “It has been really fun to go through the process and learn.”
Francona’s message to Burns is, “Learn fast.”
Said Burns, “That means I don’t have time to sit up here and learn slow. The boys are in a playoff push and I want to be a part of that, so I gotta go out there and perform.”
And about facing so many top-shelf teams, Burns is as pliant as salt water taffy.
“It’s why I play the game,” he said. “I like playing against guys like that, going against lineups like that. I’m blessed to be playing up here and I just want to get better.”
After the Dodgers scored a run in the first, Burns struck out Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages to end the inning.
He walked the first batter in the second, then struck out the next three on 10 pitches, all swinging.
The Reds tied it in the bottom of the first, filling the bases with one out. But they plated only one when Gavin Lux grounded out.
They put two on with one out in the third, but Austin Hays struck out and Lux popped out.
Elly De La Cruz singled in that inning with one out. That was in the third and the Reds never got another hit off Yamamoto. And they didn’t have a hit from the third until the ninth — just three walks and none of those reached second base.
Then the Reds rallied in the ninth against Blake Treinen, appearing in his first game since coming off the injured list.
Lux opened the ninth with a full-count walk. Spencer Steer took a called third strike. Tyler Stephenson singled and Will Benson singled Lux home to make it 5-2.
Noelvi Marte struck out on a pitch in the dirt for the second out, but Friedl walked to fill the bases.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Left-hander Jack Dreyer replaced Treinen to face Matt McLain, owner of a .364 career batting average against the Dodgers with 13 RBI, a home run and a walk-off hit.
He represented the winning run but grounded out to second to end it.
What did Yamamoto do to exert dominance on his team?
“Everything,” said Francona. “Velocity on his fastball, a spit that he can throw to lefties and righties. Breaking ball. On a guy like him, you are going to need a break.
“I thought Steer really hit his ball good in the first inning and the kid (center fielder Andy Pages) made a really nice play. That cost us two runs.”
The Reds had runners on third and second when Steer bashed one towards the hall, but Pages took a circuitous, stumbling route before snagging it on the warning track.
“We made some mistakes,” Francona added. “We walked some guys and we didn’t make some plays. You can’t give a team like that extra opportunities.”
NEXT GAME
Who: L.A. Dodgers at Cincinnati
When: 7:10 p.m., Tuesday, July 29
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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