Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched well for eight innings, and Max Muncy hit a grand slam in the first inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Miami Marlins 8-2 on Tuesday night, marking their sixth consecutive win.
Gavin Lux hit his first home run of the season for the Dodgers, who have won 13 out of their last 15 games. They have hit 14 home runs in their last four games.
With a record of 4-1, Yamamoto bounced back after giving up a home run on the first pitch and secured his third straight win. The Japanese rookie, whose contract is worth $325 million, allowed two runs and five hits in his longest outing in the major leagues. He threw 97 pitches, just two shy of his season high.
“The most important thing for me is to help the team win and ideally to keep my pitch count low,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “If that leads to a win, it’s meaningful for me.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a home run to lead off the game for the Marlins, who have only won one out of their last four games on their current six-game road trip. Bryan De La Cruz also hit a home run.
Edward Cabrera, with a record of 1-2, only pitched for two innings before leaving the game. He threw 32 of his 58 pitches for strikes, walked four batters, and hit one with a pitch.
After the game, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker mentioned that Cabrera was experiencing discomfort in his biceps.
“Seven total free passes: two hit-by pitches and five walks,” Schumaker said. “I think they got five total hits. But that’s what they do. … You get in bad counts and they’ll make you pay. That’s what good teams do.”
Cabrera hit Freddie Freeman with a pitch in the first inning and walked Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith, loading the bases. Muncy hit a grand slam to the opposite field, just clearing the left wall for his ninth home run of the season.
“It’s always nice to play at this ballpark, but the past two weeks have been really special,” Muncy said. “It shows what this team can do. I think everyone here would agree that we let those two recent losses slip away.”
Los Angeles added four more runs in the third inning after loading the bases once again. Andy Pages hit a sacrifice fly, and Muncy scored from third base on a throwing error by catcher Christian Bethancourt during a pickoff attempt.
Lux then hit a two-run homer off George Soriano. It was Lux’s first home run since 2022, as he missed last season due to a knee injury.
“It felt great,” Lux said. “It’s been a long journey back from injury last year, and starting this season slow wasn’t ideal. It’s funny how baseball works. In that situation, I was just looking to hit a flyball to center field, and I got a pitch I could handle. Sometimes simplicity is key.”
