Jack Flaherty pitched six strong innings in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles ended a three-game losing streak with a 10-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.
Flaherty said, “Any time you can help the team win, that’s the important part of it. I’ll take the time tonight to let it soak it all in. I’m just excited to be here and have a chance to contribute.”
Shohei Ohtani stole three bases, bringing his season total to 31, to go along with his 33 home runs. This is only the fourth time a Dodgers player has reached the 30-30 club in a season, and Ohtani did it in the 111th game of the season. Eric Davis was the fastest to do it in 1987 when he reached it in Cincinnati’s 105th game.
Flaherty (8-5) had a standout performance in his first game since being traded from Detroit on Tuesday. He immediately helped a Dodgers team that had lost five of its last six games.
He gave up five hits, one walk, and struck out five batters. He finished his night by getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the sixth inning by inducing two groundouts and a strikeout.
Manager Dave Roberts said, “I think we all were excited to see Jack take the mound and don his Dodgers uniform. He showed out really well. There was a quiet intensity to him. He was very focused, very controlled. I just loved the way he used his entire pitch mix.”
The Dodgers’ starting pitchers had a 5.88 ERA over the previous 28 games, the second worst in the majors during that time, which led to the move to acquire Flaherty.
Gavin Lux gave Flaherty a lead in the third inning with a two-run single off Mitch Spence (7-7), helping the Dodgers secure their second win in seven games on this road trip. Los Angeles now has a 4 1/2-game lead in the NL West over San Diego.
The A’s, who had won 10 of their last 14 games and hit 31 home runs, were shut down by Flaherty and the Dodgers’ bullpen. The game was played in front of an announced crowd of 35,207, the largest this season at the Coliseum.
