The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Atlanta Braves this weekend in what could have been one of the club’s biggest series so far this season. The 5-1 win in Sunday’s finale was highlighted by an offensive showcase by DH Shohei Ohtani and another solid outing from veteran southpaw James Paxton.
Ohtani went 4-for-4 with two long balls and three RBI on the afternoon, increasing his team-leading average and OPS to .364 and a monstrous 1.111, respectively. His homers were his ninth and tenth of the season.
Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez added a long ball of his own in the sixth inning to extend the Dodger lead to four runs.
Paxton boosted his record to 4-0 with the victory. He threw 84 pitches over 6-2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out three.
Veteran righty reliever Blake Treinen was also impressive in his return, throwing a perfect eighth inning with one strikeout on 11 pitches.
Among the biggest news stories so far for the Dodgers this season is the return of righty pitcher Walker Buehler. The 29-year-old Kentucky native will take the mound in Monday’s series opener against the Miami Marlins, who are coincidentally ranked right at the bottom in offense for all major league clubs.
Since the team optioned righty starter Landon Knack back to the minors earlier in the week, the Dodgers will likely make room for Buehler by optioning a relief pitcher. Buehler is on the 15-day inured list right now, so no adjustments will need to be made to the 40-man roster.
Buehler made a total of six rehab starts for the Dodgers while building up his return to the majors. In his last start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 30, he threw 75 pitches, going an even five innings and allowing just one earned run with five punchouts and no walks. The team probably expects to get a similar effort from him against Miami on Monday.
The remainder of Buehler’s 2024 campaign will certainly be interesting because he will become a free agent at the end of the season if he doesn’t reach a contract extension with the Dodgers sooner. Over parts of six lifetime MLB seasons in Los Angeles, he has compiled a 46-16 record and a 3.02 ERA with 690 strikeouts over 638-1/3 innings of work and 106 starts.
Lining up to start for the Dodgers in the rest of the series are righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday and right-hander Gavin Stone on Wednesday.