Andy Page found himself doused in sunflower seeds, and then he returned the favor with one of his own.
The Dodgers secured their third consecutive win, triumphing 6-0 over the Angels on Friday night, driven by two crucial home runs.
Pages ignited the offense by targeting a 3-0 fastball from Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz, knocking a three-run homer in the fourth inning. Shortly after, Max Muncy followed up with a solo shot, capitalizing on a missed pitch, making it a memorable inning.
As Pages rounded the bases and made his way to the dugout, teammate Teoscar Hernandez showered him with seeds. Hernandez, having made this celebration a tradition since joining the team three years ago, was on deck when Muncy hit his homer, so Pages got to return the favor by pelting Muncy with seeds upon his return.
“I guess he’s gonna take my role while I’m out,” Hernandez joked about Pages’ newfound seed-throwing skills. “Things are looking up.”
This moment symbolized a shift for the Dodgers (27-18) after a tough day. They had just placed Blake Snell on the disabled list due to a loose elbow requiring surgery. This was the third time in a month the team lost a key pitcher, alongside Edwin Diaz and Tyler Glasnow, which has left their pitching depth in a precarious state as they try to shake off a prolonged slump.
Manager Dave Roberts commented on the rash of injuries, saying, “It feels like we go through this every season. But I know we can push through.”
The simplest way to navigate this tough patch is to keep up the offensive output, like they did on Friday.
Thanks to Hernandez hitting his third home run in the sixth inning and contributing two runs, the team seemed to break free from a month-long home run drought, marking only their fifth outing in the last 23 games where they managed more than six RBIs.
This game was essentially a bullpen affair, allowing pitchers some needed respite.
And it seemed like an encouraging sign that they’re slowly rediscovering their offensive rhythm.
“My at-bats have improved all week,” Hernandez noted.
Given how things are going with the pitching, it might be just the right time for that.
What it means
The Dodgers prefer not to rely on bullpen games throughout the season. But as Friday demonstrated, using this strategy occasionally can work out well.
Eight Dodgers pitchers combined for the team’s fifth shutout of the season, while the Angels were held to just two hits and struck out 11 times.
Will Klein started strong, tossing two scoreless innings and retiring the first five batters he faced. Edgardo Henriquez and Blake Treinen held down the next inning before Mills and Hart navigated the fifth and sixth innings without putting any runners on base. Alex Beshear struck out three in the seventh, and Jack Dryer along with Charlie Burns, who had just come up from the minors to substitute for Snell, secured the final outs.
This marked yet another impressive outing for the Dodgers’ bullpen, which boasts one of the top ten ERAs in the league this season.
It was historically significant too—this is the 10th time in MLB’s modern era that a team has used eight pitchers to achieve a shutout victory.
“Tonight couldn’t have gone better,” said Roberts. “It was encouraging to see some players break out.”
Who is hot
We highlighted Hernandez recently (9-for-19 with four extra-base hits over his last five games).
Now let’s turn to Pages.
Before Friday, the young slugger was in a bit of a slump, going hitless in his last 13 at-bats. However, with that lead-off home run, he bounced back, proving to be the Dodgers’ most consistent hitter this season.
This was his 10th home run, placing him just behind Muncy’s 12 on the team. He rounded out the night with a .305 batting average (ranking 11th in the National League) and an .893 OPS (12th in the NL), tying for the MLB lead with 38 RBIs.
Who is not?
In clear terms, the Angels are struggling.
After a promising start to the season with an 11-10 record, they’ve now lost 19 of their last 24 games, bringing their overall record to 16-29—the worst in the majors.
Before the match, manager Kurt Suzuki was asked whether the recent downturn was simply a common “cold spell” or a sign of deeper issues within the organization, which has been out of the playoffs since 2014.
Suzuki seemed to lean toward the former notion, asserting, “There are plenty of games where we have an edge. We’re just one swing away, maybe a pitch or an out away.”
“We will turn this around,” he added optimistically.
Whether he was just trying to uphold team morale or joking remains unclear.
Regardless, the franchise is on pace to potentially hit 100 losses this season—a grim statistic considering they’ve never reached that mark before.
To the next
The Dodgers aim for their second series win in three weeks on Saturday as Justin Robleski (5-1, 2.42 ERA) faces off against the breakout right-hander Jose Soriano (6-2, 1.66 ERA).
