Kenta Maeda Shines, Dodgers Earn Series Win
Behind yet another dominant start from Kenta Maeda, the Dodgers defeated the Rockies 3-0. This win gave them the series win, their second in a row.
After arguably the best outing of his career, Maeda’s encore performance was almost just as good.
Kenta Maeda comes out after 6 2/3 IP — career-high 111 pitches, 12 Ks (one short of career-high) including 10 of last 15 batters he faced
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 24, 2018
Maeda carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, but was pretty un-hittable the rest of the way. In 6.2 innings, he only allowed 2 hits. For Kenta, that’s back-to-back starts allowing only two hits. He also struck out 12 batters, one shy of his career-high. This was the fourth time Kenta has had 10 or more strikeouts in a game, and his third this season. This is the best we’ve seen Kenta pitch in a Dodgers uniform. Over his last 14.2 innings, Maeda has 20 strikeouts, while allowing zero runs on four hits.
The Offense
The Dodgers had a quiet night at the plate, but it was effective. They got things started in the fourth inning. With two on, Logan Forsythe rocketed one down the left-field line, plating Justin Turner on a ground-rule double. Yasiel Puig then brought in a run on a fielders choice, giving LA a 2-0 lead. Matt Kemp would bring in another, driving in Austin Barnes on a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
The Bullpen
Though they didn’t see much action, it was an overall solid night for the bullpen. Pedro Baez came in into relief in the top of the seventh. Needing only one out, Baez did his job. Scott Alexander pitched a scoreless eighth. Kenley Jansen then finished the game by striking out the side. It was his fourth save in the last five days.
Analysis
The Dodgers have won six of their last seven games. They have won their second consecutive series. They currently are only 3.5 games out of first. Things are slowly but surely looking good for the boys in blue now. Sitting at 22-27, there’s still plenty of work that needs to be done. But, it’s safe to say, it appears the Dodgers are back.. and they’re coming.