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“No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.”

Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda

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The Boys in Blue have had a rocky go over the last two series. Before returning home for this homestand, they dropped a series in Arizona to the NL West’s last-place Diamondbacks. They came back to Dodger Stadium this weekend to face the Detroit Tigers and, well, it was definitely a mixed bag.

Future Hall of Famer and Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw made history Saturday night by becoming the franchise leader in strikeouts, but the team suffered a loss to the Tigers before the night was over. With right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler getting the start on Sunday, Los Angeles battled it out to win 6-3 and take the series from Detroit.

Buehler was able to go five scoreless innings with six hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. This, after pitching MLB’s first complete game of the season last week – which also happened to be a shutout. Despite putting up good numbers, Buehler is his own worst critic. He shared during a postgame interview more about having to push through and how catcher Will Smith steered him during the game.

“Obviously the first couple outings of the year weren’t super crisp either. Kind of the results weren’t there. Nice to kind of escape one, I guess if you will. But you still want to be better,” Buehler said.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained his take on Buehler’s start, including the high pitch count.

“I think that the pitch count got way up there pretty quickly, but to still manage an outing, to throw up some zeroes, get him back online for his next start – that’s what top-end guys do,” Doc said.

Roberts went on to say, “He’s really durable. He understands what he’s trying to do in a game. Obviously coming off the complete game shutout, I wanted to kind of keep in mind not to push him too much. But to be able to get through five was really big for us. But yeah, to have a guy who is dependable is important.”

Add to that right-handed pitcher Tommy Kahnle was activated off of the Injured List and made his Dodgers debut in the top of the sixth inning. He has not pitched during the regular season since 2020 when he underwent Tommy John surgery. The former New York Yankee turned Dodger struck out the first two batters he faced and got the third to fly out to center fielder Cody Bellinger. Pretty impressive for a long-awaited return to the majors.

Before the game, Kahnle spoke with SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson how surreal it was to be back and how excited he was to get out on the field and pitch again.

“I worked hard to get here, and now I’m just excited to be here and help the team. It’s going to be really awesome,” Kahnle stated.

Of note were the Dodgers bats that seemed to come alive during Sunday afternoon’s matchup. The team played some small ball to keep the line moving and bring the next guy in. Four of the six runs scored were earned, with the other two being gifts from the Tigers in the form of two very costly errors.

One of the more unusual moments came in the fourth inning when Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux was called out for batter interference on his way to first base before rounding towards second. The stadium full of 51,172 Dodger faithful were noticeably upset by the decision. However, upon further review, Roberts confirmed after the game that it was a legitimate call.

“As you make your way towards first base, if you’re in the baseline and could potentially alter the throw, if the pitcher or catcher fields the ball, you’re going to be out,” Roberts clarified. “So if it hits the runner, the batter-runner, or impedes in any way, and that’s the way (home plate umpire Brian Knight) saw it, and it’s something you just really can’t argue.”

When asked where Gavin was supposed to run, Roberts went on to say, “I think you’re just supposed to stay in the baseline, like on the line or a little bit on the dirt. It’s a funky rule.”

And center fielder Cody Bellinger is still grinding it out at every at-bat. In the bottom of the sixth inning and having gone 0-for-his-previous-20, he hit an RBI double down the right-field line that just bounced fair before rolling into the corner allowing speedy Dodgers left fielder Chris Taylor to score from first base. Bellinger would later come in to score on an error by Tiger’s shortstop Javier Baez while Lux was at-bat.

The fans are aware that the team has more potential on paper than what has played out on the field lately. Everyone, including, Dave Roberts knows the team is gearing up to hit their stride.

“I know our best baseball is ahead,” Roberts said.

Here’s to the Dodgers catching fire!

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