Updated

Updated · ESPN · Aug 2

Red Sox Beat Dodgers 3-2 for 4th Straight Win as Tarik Skubal Heads to Los Angeles

Updated

Updated · ESPN · Aug 2

Red Sox Beat Dodgers 3-2 for 4th Straight Win as Tarik Skubal Heads to Los Angeles

Q: How did Payton Tolle survive nine hits and outlast Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Boston’s one-run win at Dodger Stadium?

Payton Tolle survived the traffic by limiting the damage and winning the key moments, while Boston gave him just enough support to beat Yoshinobu Yamamoto 3-2. Tolle allowed nine hits and two walks over six innings, but the Dodgers managed only one scoring swing against him: Teoscar Hernández’s two-run homer in the second. After that, Tolle settled in, struck out seven, and repeatedly pitched out of trouble. His biggest escape came in that same second inning, when he intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani to load the bases and then got Andy Pages to ground out, preventing a bigger inning. That was the difference. Los Angeles had plenty of baserunners but failed to cash in, going hitless with runners in scoring position and stranding seven. Tolle’s outing was not dominant in terms of contact allowed, but it was effective because he missed bats when needed and kept the Dodgers from stringing together the extra hit. Yamamoto was sharper in a traditional sense, giving up only four hits over eight innings with one walk and three strikeouts, but two of those hits were Ceddanne Rafaela solo home runs. Then in the eighth, Andruw Monasterio’s leadoff double and Jarren Duran’s bunt single set up the go-ahead run, which scored on Connor Wong’s double-play ball. So Tolle outlasted Yamamoto not by allowing less traffic, but by managing it better. Boston converted its few chances; the Dodgers did not.

3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Aug 2

Andruw Monasterio opened the eighth with a ground-rule double and scored the decisive run on Connor Wong's double-play grounder, lifting Boston to a 3-2 win in Los Angeles.
Ceddanne Rafaela supplied all of Boston's early offense with two solo homers off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who still carried a four-hitter through eight innings after retiring 13 straight batters.
Payton Tolle gave up two runs on nine hits over six innings, Justin Slaten worked a scoreless seventh, and Aroldis Chapman closed a perfect ninth for his 27th save.
Boston has won four straight and taken the first two games of the series, improving to 13-3 since the All-Star break and 22-4 since the start of July.
After the game, the Dodgers landed two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from Detroit for three minor league prospects, capping a busy night that also included roster moves and Willson Contreras' concussion testing.