The Los Angeles Dodgers
beat the Cincinnati Reds
, 3-2, on Tuesday evening and improved to 88-57 on the year.
Reigning two-time Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal
struck out five across 7.1 innings of work and allowed two earned runs off of four hits. Teoscar Hernndez went 3-for-3 at the plate while Will Smith
hit a first-inning solo home run, his first long ball since May 29th.
Advertisement
Following the win, the magic number for the Dodgers to clinch the National League West division is 7. This would be their 13th division win in the last 14 seasons and fifth consecutive NL West title.
Superstar Shohei Ohtani
didn't play on Tuesday, despite a long-awaited return to the lineup on Monday night. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters before the game why the four-time MVP was once again off the lineup card.
"Talking to the training staff, it's more the thought of, 'Let's build him up slowly,'" Roberts said. "So I think a day here or there is not the worst thing, to make sure overall that his body feels as close to 100% as possible."
In other news, right-hander Bobby Miller
made his season debut on Sunday and earned the win, his first in over two calendar years. The 27-year-old was asked if he had any doubts about a return to the big leagues and spoke honestly after the game.
Advertisement
"I'd say earlier this year, yeah," Miller said. "But the way I started feeling lately, out of the 'pen with my last few outings in Triple-A, I really just started to have sort of like an 'F it' mentality out there. Whatever happens, happens. Don't pitch tense out there."
Roberts spoke on the injury-plagued battle back to MLB for Miller and the fight that he has displayed throughout the entire process.
"I give him a lot of credit for continuing to fight to be a part of this," Roberts said. "He could have easily cashed in the season. Coming out of spring training, he was hurt, and really never got any traction as far as health. And there was good, there was not good, and to continue to persevere - that says a lot about the character."
Here's all the latest Dodgers news and stories (click the headline for the full article):
Advertisement
Dodgers' Dave Roberts Reveals Why Shohei Ohtani is Out Just One Day After Return
Dodgers' Bobby Miller Thought His MLB Career Was Over Before Surprise Promotion
Pitcher Traded By Dodgers Stayed Back to Cheer on Teammates From Stands
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani May Not Be Done Missing Games With Injury
Dodgers Lineup vs Reds: Shohei Ohtani Out in Concerning Development
Dodgers Tweets of the Day
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Sign up for our free newsletter
and follow us on X/Twitter
and Facebook
for the latest news.
Today's best reads
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/onsi as Dodgers Notes: Magic Number Shrinks, Shohei Ohtani Absence Raises Eyebrows, LA Pitcher Thought Career Was Over
.
