Andy Pages got a sunflower seed bathe. Then, he delivered another one himself.
In a 6-0 win over the Angels on Friday night time, the Dodgers’ third-straight victory was keyed by two massive swings.
Pages had the first, ambushing a 3-0 fastball from Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz for a three-run homer in the prime of the fourth inning. Moments later, Max Muncy delivered the other, crushing an 0-2 mistake that Kochanowicz left over the plate to make it back-to-back lengthy balls with a solo drive to proper.
Andy Pages belts a three-run homers in the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 6-0 street win over the Angels on May 15, 2026 in Anaheim, Calif. William Liang-Imagn Images
As Pages returned to the dugout following his trot around the bases, he got a customary seed bathe from teammate Teoscar Hernández –– who has made the celebration a staple since arriving in Los Angeles three years in the past.
But with Hernández on deck when Muncy went deep, it was Pages’ flip to deal with the honors, grabbing a bag of seeds himself and tossing them in Muncy’s face as he came back off the discipline.
“He’s going to have my job when I’m not here,” Hernández joked of Pages’ seed-throwing type. “So it is getting better.”
The scene represented an uplifting flip on what began as a darkish day for the Dodgers (27-18), who positioned scheduled beginning pitcher Blake Snell on the injured checklist pregame with unfastened our bodies in his elbow that could require surgical procedure.
Snell’s harm is the third the Dodgers have suffered to a star pitcher in the last month (after Edwin Díaz and Tyler Glasnow). It leaves them concerningly skinny on depth as they strive to emerge from a month-long hunch.
“It seems like every year we go through it,” supervisor Dave Roberts said of the sudden deluge of pitching accidents. “What I have learned is, we get through it.”
The simplest way to do so this time: More offensive performances such as Friday’s.
Thanks to a third home run in the sixth inning from Hernández –– who snapped a month-long homer drought by driving a two-run blast the other approach –– the Dodgers eclipsed the six-run mark for only the fifth time in their last 23 video games.
It gave their pitching employees lots of respiration room in what turned an emergency bullpen sport.
And it served as the newest encouraging signal that they are starting to rediscover higher type at the plate.
“The at-bats are getting better throughout this week,” Hernández said.
Given the team’s pitching scenario, not a second too quickly either.
What it means
The Dodgers don’t need to go with bullpen video games usually this yr.
But when they want to, as Friday confirmed, it isn’t always the worst tactic.
Dodgers starter Will Klein, who pitched two scoreless innings, was one of eight pitchers to clean the Angels. AP
Eight totally different Dodgers pitchers mixed for the club’s fifth shutout this yr, limiting the Angels to just two hits while hanging out a mixed 11 batters.
It began with two scoreless innings from Will Klein, who retired his first 5 batters before stranding a couple runners in the second. Edgardo Henriquez and Blake Treinen then adopted with 1-2-3 frames, retaining the Angels quiet as the Dodgers constructed their lead.
Wyatt Mills and Kyle Hurt both labored around walks in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. Alex Vesia negated a seventh-inning single by hanging out his other three batters. Jack Dreyer and Charlie Barnes (a current waiver claim who was called up in Snell’s place pregame) dealt with the remaining six outs.
It was the newest standout efficiency from a Dodgers aid corps that has a top-10 ERA in the majors this yr.
It was also considerably historic; marking only the tenth time in MLB’s trendy period (since 1901) that club pitched a shutout utilizing at least eight pitchers.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better situation tonight,” Roberts said. “It was good to see a few of the guys break out.”
Who’s scorching
We lined Hernández (who is 9-for-19 in his last 5 video games with 4 extra-base hits) in this house last night time.
So, let’s go with Pages.
Entering Friday, the third-year slugger was in a lull, held with out a hit in his last 13 at-bats. But with his score-opening home run, he continued to construct on his robust general begin to the season –– persevering with to be the Dodgers’ most constant, and clutch, hitter.
Pages’ massive fly was his tenth of the yr, trailing only Muncy (who has 12) for most on the team.
Andy Pages celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run homer in the fourth inning of the Dodgers win over the Angels. William Liang-Imagn Images
It also put him back in a tie for the MLB lead in RBIs with 38, while serving to him end the night time with a .305 batting common (Eleventh-best in the National League) and .893 OPS (which ranks twelfth).
Who’s not
Plain and easy, the Angels.
Since an encouraging 11-10 begin to the season, the team has dropped 19 of its last 24 video games. At 16-29 general, they now own the worst report in the majors.
Before the sport, supervisor Kurt Suzuki was requested if the club’s current hunch was merely in a run-of-the-mill “cold stretch” –– or something more reflective of the state of an group that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2014.
Suzuki insisted it was the former, arguing that “there are a lot of games where we’re in it; we’re one swing away, maybe one pitch away, one out away.”
Angels supervisor Kurt Suzuki said he believes his struggling team will flip it around. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
“We’re gonna turn this around,” he added.
Either he was operating cowl for his bosses, or helplessly kidding himself.
Regardless, a franchise that has never before lost 100 video games is properly on its approach to doing so proper now. The “cold stretch,” unsurprisingly, continues.
Up next
The Dodgers will be going for only their second collection win in the last three weeks on Saturday, when Justin Wrobleski (5-1, 2.42 ERA) faces breakout right-hander José Soriano (6-2, 1.66).
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