The Los Angeles Dodgers couldn’t get their offense going with a 3-1 loss to open their series against the Cleveland Guardians.
This game turned out to be a pitcher’s duel with both Landon Knack and Matthew Boyd turning in strong starts.
Knack pitched 3.1 no-hit innings before allowing a single to José Ramírez, and continued to throw five scoreless innings. In the sixth, Knack allowed a single to Brayan Rocchio to start the inning, and that was followed by a one-out homer from Andrés Giménez that put the Guardians up 2-0.
Knack recorded two more outs to finish his night, throwing six innings while allowing two runs on three hits with one walk. In addition, he struck out a career-high eight batters, passing his previous best of seven in a start.
Unfortunately, Boyd matched Knack for most of the night. The southpaw also pitched five scoreless innings before he allowed a home run to Shohei Ohtani in the sixth inning that made it a one-run game.
For Ohtani, that was his 45th homer of the season, making him the first player in MLB history to reach at least 45 home runs and 45 stolen bases in a single season. He previously became the first player with 43 and 44 of both in a season, and he will continue to set new marks as he continues to add on.
Boyd also finished his day going six innings while allowing three hits, however, he limited the Dodgers to just the one run while striking out six and walking no one.
In the eighth inning, Anthony Banda allowed a solo home run to Bryan Rocchio to extend the Guardians lead to 3-1.
The Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but failed to score.
Dodgers remove Teoscar Hernández early with injury
The injury bug continued for the Dodgers as Teoscar Hernández was forced to exit Friday’s game versus the Guardians in the first inning due to a left ankle/foot injury.
With a runner on first base and two outs, Hernández was hit in the left ankle by an 81 mph slider. He fell down in pain and grabbed his ankle while wincing in pain.
Hernández slowly walked to first base, continuing to show serious pain, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and head trainer Thomas Albert. Hernández attempted to test his ankle out with a very subtle jog before he had to come out of the game.
Chris Taylor entered as a pinch-runner for Hernández and remained in the game in left field. The Dodgers announced Hernández was removed because of a left foot contusion.
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