SAN FRANCISCO — There’s no such thing as a “must-win” game in late April. Especially not for a team like the Dodgers, who entered Thursday with the second-best record in the majors at 16-8.
Still, after the Dodgers lost four of their previous five and faced a potential sweep at the hands of the Giants, LA manager Dave Roberts did his best to conjure some renewed urgency.
“We got to win today,” he said before the club’s series finale at Oracle Park.
And in a 3-0 victory, that attitude was evident –– both in the way Roberts managed and the way his team played.
On Thursday morning, Roberts shuffled his lineup, moving theslumping Kyle Tuckerdown the batting order. He also bypassed the temptation to giveShohei Ohtania day off, despite his six-inning pitching start the night before.
Roberts’ hope was that such moves would kick-start a recently scuffling offseason and salvage something from the end of a road trip in which the team had already clinched a losing overall record.
“I do think that it’ll turn,” Roberts said.
Though the Dodgers (17-8) didn’t exactly break out at the plate Thursday, Tyler Glasnow made sure they didn’t really need to, dominating over eight scoreless innings in one of his best starts with the team.
The lineup, meanwhile, manufactured offense when needed, tagging Giants ace Logan Webb with three runs over seven innings.
In both their rallies, the Dodgers relied on aggressive baserunning and improved situational hitting.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
