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After Sunday's 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Cody Bellinger's return and Carlos Rodón's second start back were chief among the Yankees' top developments. Here are some highlights of what Bellinger, Rodón and Aaron Boone said following New York's three-game series victory.

Bellinger's first game back

Playing for the first time since July 25 when he suffered his left hamstring strain and one day later went on the 10-day injured list, Bellinger emerged healthy.

"I felt really good," Bellinger said. "Honestly, I felt like 100 percent. Running after those balls and on the bases, I felt really good."

Bellinger's 1-for-4 afternoon at Yankee Stadium saw him rebound from an 0-for-3, two-strikeout start with a leadoff single in the seventh inning.

"OK -- I think he was expanding a bit early on in his first couple, and then he got into a 3-1 count against a tough lefty to square it up against and smokes the ball up the middle," Boone said. "So, that was good to see ... a good way for him to kind of finish in his first game back after it felt like he expanded the zone more than he wanted to, got himself into a good count and was able to sting one against a tough lefty there at the end."

Three at-bats later, Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s two-out home run to right field scored Bellinger and padded New York's 7-2 lead against Toronto (64-68).

"I felt all right," Bellinger said. "I felt like I was a little jumpy early on, and in that fourth at-bat I was able to settle down a little bit. It's obviously nice to get some results in the first and obviously to get the win as well."

Through 103 games this season, Bellinger is slashing .259/.349/.418 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI.

He gets Monday off before the Yankees (74-56) begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros with Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. opener in the Bronx.

Rodón's room for improvement

Building upon last Tuesday's 3-1 win at the Baltimore Orioles, in which he threw 39 strikes on 66 pitches over four innings, Rodón again went four frames Sunday.

His second start back from an IL stint that sidelined him from the Yankees since June 28 due to left elbow inflammation was a 76-pitch, 42-strike outing with two runs (one earned) one two hits while striking out two and walking two.

"It's good," Rodón said. "Obviously, there's some things I want to refine and obviously be in the zone a little more -- crisper with strikes and just attacking and getting ahead. So, there's things I can work on."

Rodón is in line to start Saturday's 1:05 p.m. game against the Boston Red Sox, a four-game series that stretches from Friday through Monday at Yankee Stadium.

"Obviously, hopefully, totally built up," Boone said of Rodón's ramp-up period. "I think he's in a really good place. I think his stuff, physically, is where it needs to be -- and, hopefully, he just continues to get a little bit sharper as he does build up here and expect him to be a key contributor in our rotation moving forward and what we hope is beyond the regular season."

In the early 90s, I was a freshman at a college in L.A., and I’d struck up a kind of dating / friendship thing with a very out-of-my-league lady; much my superior in looks, decency, and maturity. It wasn’t destined to last and it didn’t.

I did spend some time at her parents’ house, in the San Diego suburb of Rancho Santa Fe. One weekend — maybe over Thanksgiving? I don’t remember — her grandparents were visiting, too. The grandparents were very rich old Southern types who grumbled over all the troublemakers in labor unions and such.

After dinner, we retired to the veranda / back porch / deck, and Gramps was getting comfortably sloshed on mint juleps. It was a pleasant evening to watch the daylight fade and the stars begin to appear. At one point, there was a light moving in the distance, and Gramps said, “I do declare I believe that to be one of those there U.F.O.s.” Others suggested an airplane or weather balloon, yet Gramps wasn’t having none of it. “Nope, no sir, that there is most assuredly a U.F.O.” He wasn’t terrified or angry, it was just like saying what he wanted for dessert. We let him have the point.

Later that evening, I watched a movie with my lady friend. What was it? Close Encounters, of course. (She didn’t like it.)

A few years after I left that college (I’ve left a few), there was an awful mass suicide event by members of the “Heaven’s Gate” cult, who believed that via dying, the aliens would come collect their souls for the afterlife. Where were their mortal remains found? In that very same San Diego suburb of Rancho Santa Fe.

And, of course, the most well-known comic book / sci-fi / fantasy convention is the San Diego Comic-Con.

So I don’t think the Twins lost this game because the Padres are simply a better baseball team. I think the Twins lost because of interference by the Aliens.

The game was scoreless in the 3rd when Fernando Tatis, Jr. hit a 396-foot solo homer, which accomplished two purposes; it gave his team the lead, and signaled to the Padres’ astral buddies that the team was requesting some assistance.

Now, the hyper-powerful beings from Planet Beeblebrox have mastered transwarp drive, but even so, they can’t just show up immediately. They’ve gotta gas up, finish hovering the dog, etc. So it took them a while to arrive, during which time Brooks Lee was able to tie it up with a dinger of his own. (One of four hits the Twins got off Padres starter Walker Buehler.)

When the Twins hit homers to tie the game, it doesn’t signal any extraterrestrial helpers; it signals the Twins pitchers that they can relax and let the other team threaten to take the lead right back. Which is precisely what starter Bailey Ober proceeded to do, giving up one-out singles to Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth. (By the way, the cinematographer on Blade Runner was Jordan Cronenweth.) Happily, Ober got one of his three strikeouts today by whiffing Manny Machado, and Ty France got revenge on his former team via flying out to end the inning.

The cloaked spacecraft arrived during the sixth inning, first causing Kaelen Culpepper to botch a routine grounder. E.T.s can’t prevent baserunning gaffes, though, and Kody Funderburk picked Jackson Merrill off. Other Kody (Clemens) almost failed to get the tag down in time, and Merrill was originally called safe; the call was overturned on review.

Then Xanax the Merciless leveled his potent Mind Control beam at the pitching mound. First, the Percepto Ray causd Funderburk to imagine that the hitters were all ten feet tall; he walked two batters, the second on four pitches. Derek Shelton brought Jeff Hoffman to replace the obviously hypnotized Funderburk.

With Hoffman, the space invaders switched tactics; they’d forgotten to charge up the Percepto Ray battery before leaving, and it only had enough juice left to make Hoffman walk the next hitter. Needing new tactics, Xanax fired up the Esteeminator beam. A voice went into Hoffman’s head. It said, “you’re not as intimidating as Trevor Hoffman in a Padres uniform. You’re not even as intimidating as Dustin Hoffman in Hook.” Seeds of doubt planted, Hoffman put a slider right over the middle and Luis Rengifro punished it; two runners scored.

Then the voice told Hoffman, “you don’t want to make the wildcard round, anyways. That’s extra work. You don’t want extra work. You’ve already worked hard enough.” Hoffman thought, “dang straight!” and invited Tatis Jr. to knock in two more.

Since you can count, you’ll realize that this only amounts to a 5-1 score, and the final score was worse than that. Well, by this point, the aliens had seen all the gambling ads at Petco, so they decided to win a few memecoins by messing with Travis Adams and Taylor Rogers, too. You want clips? Here’s where the clips are. Tatis Jr. hit another moonshot, by the way, don’t you wish the Twins had had a guy that good in the last 10 years? Me too.

The sweep leaves the Twins 2.0 games out of the final wildcard spot. Three teams are ahead of them, and one of those — the Blue Jays — won’t be facing an opponent with a winning record the rest of the season. The sweep is also the first time the Twins have been swept by San Diego before, per gintzer.

Comments of the game go to artistformerlyknownasgoose for “We’re stuck in a simulation that’s glitching out” and sandwiches for “‘Atteberry: “The middle innings have not been kind to the Twins.” Dude, almost no inning has been kind to the Twins.”’ Sorry I couldn’t help with the thread folks, I had to cook squash. Is squash boring? Yes. But it protects you from mind control rays.

The Twins fly to Sacramento (I still can’t believe I’m typing that phrase) for an 8:40 start tomorrow, featuring LHP Jeffrey Springs against our own Daniel Zebulon Matthews. By Grabthar’s hammer, this sweep shall be avenged.

Live long and klaatu barada nikto.

Astros fans, after what can only be described as a disastrous homestand, it may be time to start thinking about something much bigger than whether this team can somehow find a way into the playoffs this season.

It’s time to start thinking about the state of the Houston Astros.

Not just for the remainder of this season, but for next year and beyond.

There is an old belief in professional sports that the worst thing a franchise can be is average. If you’re really bad, you’re going to get high draft picks and opportunities to replenish your farm system with elite young talent. You can trade veteran players for prospects, create financial flexibility and potentially accelerate a rebuild.

When you’re really good, the benefits are obvious. Free agents want to play for you. Players with no-trade clauses are more likely to approve deals to join you. It’s easier to convince ownership to spend money at the trade deadline because you’re adding a piece or two to a legitimate championship contender.

But being stuck in the middle?

That’s where things get dangerous.

Houston Rockets fans should be very familiar with that territory. For years, the Rockets found themselves good enough to avoid completely bottoming out but not good enough to seriously contend for a championship.

That’s the situation the Astros have to be careful about falling into now.

Playing around .500 and flirting with a Wild Card spot can create the illusion that you’re closer than you really are. The same can be said for playing in a division where nobody has completely separated themselves from the pack. You look at the standings and convince yourself that if you can just get hot for a couple of weeks, you’re right back in it.

Maybe you are.

But then what?

More often than not, a mediocre team either misses the postseason altogether or sneaks into October and gets eliminated quickly, which is exactly what happened to Houston two seasons ago when the Tigers knocked the Astros out in the Wild Card round. Last season, the Astros missed the postseason entirely on the back of a tiebreaker.

That’s why Jim Crane has some incredibly difficult decisions coming.

And they go far beyond simply deciding the futures of General Manager Dana Brown and Manager Joe Espada.

Those decisions will obviously receive much of the attention, but Crane has to answer a much bigger question:

What exactly are the Houston Astros now?

Are they still a legitimate World Series contender that needs a couple of significant additions?

Or are they an aging team whose championship window is rapidly closing and needs to begin thinking about its next era?

Those are two completely different paths, and the worst thing the organization can do is refuse to choose one.

If Crane believes this core still has another legitimate World Series run in it, then go for it.

Really go for it.

That means accepting that maintaining a championship-caliber roster requires taking risks. It means making aggressive trades. It means being willing to commit significant money in free agency. It may even mean overpaying a player or two because that’s sometimes the cost of filling holes when you’re trying to win immediately.

The Astros have historically been reluctant to make those kinds of long-term financial commitments, and there are understandable reasons for that.

We’ve seen what happens when those moves go wrong.

The Jose Abreu contract is the most obvious recent example. Crane and the Astros spent significant money trying to fill a major need, and it simply didn’t work. There have been other moves that haven’t produced the expected return, so nobody should blame Crane for being apprehensive about throwing huge amounts of money at another free agent.

But if you’re going to keep telling everyone the championship window is open, eventually you have to make moves that reflect that philosophy.

Crane has repeatedly maintained that as long as he owns the Astros, the window to compete for a World Series championship will remain open.

That’s exactly what Astros fans want to hear.

The problem is that the results of the last several seasons suggest Houston is moving further away from another championship rather than closer to one.

That’s where this becomes uncomfortable.

At some point, an organization has to distinguish between believing in its championship culture and trying to recreate something that no longer exists.

Nobody wants the greatest era of Astros baseball to end.

This franchise went from being an organization that couldn’t get over the hump to becoming one of the standards of Major League Baseball. World Series appearances became almost expected. Playing deep into October became normal. Winning the AL West wasn’t the goal anymore—it was simply the first step toward the real goal.

That’s an incredible legacy, and everyone involved deserves credit for it.

But that success can’t become the reason the organization refuses to acknowledge when it’s time to change direction.

If this season ends up looking a whole lot like last season, Crane has to seriously evaluate whether continuing to patch holes and chase one more playoff run is actually helping the franchise or simply delaying an inevitable transition.

Because there is another option.

Press reset.

That doesn’t necessarily mean tearing everything down and accepting five years of 100-loss baseball. It doesn’t have to mean a complete rebuild.

It could mean making difficult decisions on veteran players while they still have trade value. It could mean prioritizing young talent and rebuilding organizational depth. It could mean creating payroll flexibility so that when the next Astros core begins to emerge, the franchise has the resources to surround it with established talent.

Most importantly, it would mean having a direction.

That’s what Astros fans should be thinking about as they watch the remainder of this season.

Not simply, “Can they still win the division?”

Not simply, “Can they grab a Wild Card?”

Ask the bigger question:

If they do, are they actually good enough to do anything once they get there?

Because if the answer is no, then Houston may be approaching a crossroads that Crane and this organization can no longer avoid.

Either believe this team can still contend and make the aggressive moves necessary to give it a legitimate chance to win another World Series, or acknowledge that this incredible run is nearing its conclusion and start building the foundation for the next one.

Just don’t get caught in the middle.

In professional sports, that’s often the hardest place to escape.

So what do you want them to do, Astros fans?

Take another big swing and try to extend the Golden Era one more time?

Or, if this season ends the way last season did, accept that this may be as good as it gets with the current group and begin figuring out how to build the next great Astros team?

Jim Crane may soon have to make that choice.

And it could be the most important decision he’s made since buying the Houston Astros.

I have to admit, I was dupped, dead wrong, lured in by ghosts of seasons past along 501 Crawford Street.   On the heels of taking the series in San Francisco, I told anyone who would listen that the Astros would “pad their lead” during the upcoming 9 game homestand against the likes of the Mariners, Angels and A’s.   Instead of winning each of those series, they dropped each of those series.   The most devastating loss occurring Sunday afternoon. A’s 7.    Astros 6.

With the loss, the Astros have now dipped below the .500 mark, sitting at 65-66.    

Things started off promising enough.    In the first, Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez started things with back-to-back singles.     Isaac Parades would bring home Pena on a deep sac fly to score the game’s first run.    Jose Altuve then came up and cleared the bases with a two-run HR.    It was 3-0.    

The Astros would increase their lead further the very next inning.    Cam Smith, Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes each drew walks loading the bases.    Parades walk was generated by a pitch clock violation of all things.    Then Altuve followed suit and walked as well for good measure which brought in Cam Smith.  After two innings of baseball, it was 4-0.  

In the bottom of the fourth, Isaac Paredes homered to left field, with Pena on base from a throwing error, and that 2 run blast made things 6-0.     From there the unthinkable happened.    

Cristian Javier was rolling through 4 innings, striking out 8.     Then the roof caved in during the 5th.  Donovan Walton led off the frame with a single, Darell Harnaiz walked and then Brian Serven would serve us a 3-run home run.    That sequence gave the A’s life and chased Cristian Javier from the game in favor of Enyel De Los Santos. 

Henry Bolte would then single, Zach Gelof would reach on a hit pitch, and Lawrence Butler would get in on the act with an RBI Double.     The bleeding wouldn’t stop.    Tommy White singled to shallow right and two more runs would cross the plate, chasing De Los Santon for Kai-Wei Teng.    Just like that, the ballgame was tied 6-6.

Javier’s final line was 4 IP, with 3 ER and 4 hits, a pair of walks and the aforementioned 8 K’s.    De Los Santos was charged with 3 ER on 3 H in 0.1 IP.

From that moment on, the Astros would once again call upon their bullpen to attempt to save the day as they’ve done so often.    Today Steven Okert, who has been among the most reliable Astros pitchers all season, couldn’t hold the line. He would surrender a solo HR to Max Muncy to give the A’s a 7-6 lead they would not relinquish.

Josh Hader did come on in the 9th and struck out a pair in a perfect 9th, but one questions “why” Hader continues to pitch in games in which the Astros are losing late.      

Hogan Harris came in to record his 13th save of the year for the A’s.   

Odds & Ends

Yordan Alvarez officially passed Jeff Bagwell with his 28th intentional walk of the season.   He was intentionally walked three times on Sunday.    

Omar Lopez managed Sunday’s contest in Joe Espada’s absence due to a family emergency.

The Astros now travel to New York for a 6-game stretch against the Yankees and Mets.    The Yankees have named Will Warren as their game one starter for Tuesday Night.   

The Cleveland Guardians closed out the three game series in Denver, Colorado. After yesterday’s win secured the series, the Guardians were hunting for their first series sweep since the Miami series going into the All Star Break.

Foster Griffin improved to 15-4 on the season with his gritty start. Griffin only went 5.0 innings, but threw over 40 pitches in the second inning. Despite the two earned runs in that lengthy second inning, he came back and locked it down for Cleveland. Griffin ended his night only allowing those two runs on five hits and three walks, he struck out four.

Craig Yoho (1.1IP/2F/0R/1K), Tim Herrin (1.0IP/0H/0R/1K), and Matt Festa (0.2IP/0H/0R/2K) pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Logan T. Allen was tapped to close the game, making quick work of the Colorado batters in the bottom of the ninth.

Guardians offense took to the altitude and had another high scoring game. Steven Kwan lead things off with a single and quickly scored with Chase DeLauter’s triple for the first run of the game.

Seven batters came up to bat in the first inning alone, giving Cleveland a quick 3-0 lead. In the top of the second, four more hits gave the Guards a 5-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth, already with a single and a triple, DeLauter hit his second triple of the game with one out.

Nathaniel Lowe’s two-out single scored CDL further extending the Cleveland lead. Angel Martínez isn’t the fastest sprinter in the league, but his persistent hustle mentality got him on base in the top of the eighth. Martínez struck out swinging on an eight pitch at bat, but the pitch was wild and Martínez easily made it to first. A stolen base and Austin Hedges single later, Martínez was now on third and scored easily on a sac fly from Brayan Rocchio.

Chase DeLauter finished the night having gone 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and a walk, Jo Adell went 2-for-5 with two RBI, and Angel Martínez went 2-for-3 with a run, RBI, and a walk.

The Guardians are making up ground in the Wild Card chase with this series and can hopefully carry this momentum into Anaheim. They will face the Angels in a three game series starting tomorrow night. First pitch is at 9:38PM EDT with Parker Messick taking the mound for Cleveland.

On a day full of celebration at the unveiling of Larry Walker’s new statue outside Coors Field, the Rockies could not keep up the excitement inside.

It was the Rockies’ ninth-straight loss at home — the first time it’d happened since 1993 at Mile High Stadium, and the first time it’d happened at Coors Field — and they were officially swept in three-straight series for the first time in franchise history. It was also their sixth-straight loss, period, marking the third time in club history that they have gone 0-6 or worse in a homestand (first time since Sept. 15-21 against San Francisco and San Diego). The starting pitchers ran up their pitch counts early, but the Rockies’ offense was missing as they couldn’t drive in anyone after the second inning.

However, on a positive note, they did not allow a home run for the first time since August 2 against Kansas City.

Early pitching woes (for both teams!)

Today was another day to forget for Tomoyuki Sugano. After only having outings of fewer than five innings three times in his previous 22 starts, today tied the right-hander’s shortest career start. Sugano tossed just three innings — which happened twice last September — and allowed five runs on nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts. He threw a career-high 45 pitches in the first inning, which was also the most by any Rockies starter in the first inning this season (Michael Lorenzen threw 44 against the Phillies in his Coors Field debut).

Sugano went out for a second inning, where he threw 26 more pitches. The 71 pitches through two innings were the most by any pitcher in MLB this season. He was finally lifted after the third inning after throwing 92 pitches.

“I thought it was similar to the last outing a little bit, in terms of [getting] behind in counts early,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “I think you combine that with how that team takes at-bats, and you compound the behind in counts, foul balls — tons of foul balls today — pitch count — the pitch count ran up heavily in the first inning, over 40. And then pretty much the same thing in the second. I mean, [Sugano] threw 91 pitches in three innings. Good for him going back out for the third, being able to do that and save our ‘pen one extra inning, but it was just a tough day for Tomo. Tomo has been so good for us, but it just didn’t happen today. [He] didn’t feel it.”

That said, things didn’t look much better for Foster Griffin. Griffin got off to a quick start by throwing 10 pitches, but then threw 47 in the second. The 130 combined pitches through two innings were the second-most in any game this season. But he came back with a quick third inning with just one hit, aided by a Willi Castro TOOTBLAN, and got a 1-2-3 fourth. Griffin was lifted after five innings, after allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

The big story of the early innings, though, was foul balls. It got started early with a Chase DeLauter 10-pitch at-bat as the second batter of the game that turned into an RBI triple. There were 11 foul balls in the top of the first, and 41 total through the first two innings combined — nine more than the next closest game.

By the time the game ended, there had been an MLB record 94 foul balls.

Bullpenning!

The Rockies bullpen was kicked off by Mark Manfredi in the fourth inning. He got Steven Kwan to go down on strikes, but gave up another triple to DeLauter — his second of the game. He struck out Jo Adell, but then a single by Nathaniel Lowe scored DeLauter to run up the score 6-2.

Jimmy Herget entered for the fifth, and got Travis Bazzana to ground out to second. Angel Martínez walked, but then Austin Hedges grounded into a double play. But then things got weird in the sixth when Herget was bitten or stung by some sort of flying insect to kick things off. However, he was able to continue, facing four batters and only walking DeLauter. He threw 35 total pitches, but both of his innings were scoreless.

“It was a bee sting right on his elbow,” Schaeffer said. “It was unbelievable, right on the UCL! But he’s fine.”

Jaden Hill came in for the seventh, and threw just 10 pitches to get Lowe, Angel Genao and Bazzana out.

Nick Frasso came in for the eighth, and ran into some traffic. He struck out Martínez, but a wild pitch allowed him to reach and then he stole second. Hedges singled, and then Brayan Rocchio hit a sac fly to score Martínez. But then Kwan grounded out and DeLauter flew out.

Jordan Romano entered in the ninth, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning on 16 pitches.

Offense: MIA

The Rockies offense has been struggling as of late, and that didn’t change this afternoon. They managed seven hits, but only two came around to score in the second inning.

After Mickey Moniak struck out, the Rockies had three-straight baserunners — Connor Norby walked, Jordan Beck singled and Brett Sullivan doubled to score Norby. Then, recently-recalled Ryan Ritter grounded out, allowing Beck to score. Ezequiel Tovar drew a four-pitch walk, then Jake McCarthy drew a walk after being down 0-2. Unfortunately, Cole Carrigg lost an 11-pitch battle to end the inning, the threat and the scoring.

In the third, Castro led off with a double, but then Moniak struck out again. Castro was then caught stealing, but Norby singled to make up for him. According to Larry Walker, who was in the booth in the third inning, that’s something that happens often! Beck was then called out on strikes to end the threat.

After a 1-2-3 fourth, McCarthy singled to lead off the fifth. But then Carrigg, Castro and Moniak all ran into outs. Norby struck out to start the sixth, but pinch-hitter Troy Johnston did smack a double in his first at-bat of the afternoon. Unfortunately, he was stranded by Sullivan and pinch-hitter TJ Rumfield.

Tovar singled to start the seventh, but the final nine Rockies were sat down in order to end the game.

Up Next

The Rockies head east to face the 61-71 Washington Nationals for four games. Ryan Feltner (5-7, 5.97 ERA) is set to take the ball for the Rox against Nats’ right-hander Cade Cavalli (11-5, 3.22 ERA). First pitch is at 4:45 pm MT.

See you then!

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On a steamy Sunday when everyone in the Dodger Stadium seats was using programs to fan themselves, Blake Snell was fanning Pittsburgh Pirates — six strikeouts in six innings of work — and the bottom of the order played like the top of the lineup, providing ample offensive spark for a 4-0 victory that stretched the Dodgers’ winning streak to six games.

What a weekend for Dodger pitchers — Yoshinobu Yamamoto followed by Tarik Skubal followed by Snell, with Tyler Glasnow on deck and Shohei Ohtani getting healthier by the day and scheduled to throw a bullpen session during the upcoming series in Atlanta.

“It’s daunting,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, barely suppressing a smile. “As an offense — an opposing offense — to look at the probables you see Glasnow, Yamamoto, Snell, [Roki] Sasaki, and then potentially Shohei. It gets daunting.”

Come October, Dodger Stadium could be a daunted house.

Read more:'I haven’t done my job.' Edwin Díaz accepts low-leverage role with Dodgers — for now

In the meantime, the team is coming off back-to-back sweeps of the Colorado Rockies and Pirates (63-69), who mustered two hits Sunday after a combined 14 in the first two games of the series.

For his part, Snell was happy but not thrilled about his performance, which included three walks and one hit batter.

“There were a couple innings there where, you know, get two quick outs and then full-count walk, full-count walk,” he said. “It’s not acceptable. Especially with, I feel good, I know I can command the ball. Honestly, it’s lazy. It’s me trying to get strikeouts instead of, you know, trying to go seven, eight, nine. So I definitely got to clean that up. But I know I’m going to do that, and just continue to get better, and learn, and grow.”

Yamamoto, Skubal and Snell combined for 26 strikeouts, five walks and five earned runs in 19 innings.

“It’s going to be a lot of good competition within the starting rotation,” Snell said. “I’m really excited about it. I mean, being able to watch some of the best pitchers in the game and learn from them — their mentality, the way they attack — having those conversations are very big. I’m definitely grateful to be on the same team, but a lot to learn.”

At the plate, the Dodgers (80-51) got some welcome help from the bottom of the order. Center fielder Alek Thomas and catcher Hunter Feduccia — replacements for injured All-Stars Andy Pages and Will Smith — drove in runs with consecutive singles in the fourth. That turned a familiar one-run game, of which the Dodgers have had a lot lately, into a leisurely Sunday stroll.

Before the game, Roberts expressed some concern that while Thomas could handle all the defensive responsibilities of Pages, there might be a drop-off in hitting. But that hasn’t been a worry so far, as Thomas had key hits on both Saturday and Sunday.

“Definitely feels good,” said Thomas, formerly of the Arizona Diamondbacks. “Coming here, I played against the Dodgers my whole career, grew up not really liking the team, whatever. And coming over here, it feels good to be on a side that wins a lot and has fun.”

No need to remind Kyle Tucker. The huge-money outfielder has been one of the more compelling stories this season. He came into the weekend hitting .189 at Dodger Stadium, and he had gone 0 for 19 in his last homestand. That futility was starting to spill over to his defense, too, as he dropped a routine foul ball in front of a crowd whose patience had long since worn thin.

But on Friday night, there was a concerted effort by Dodgers fans to cheer him loudly every time he stepped to the plate, in hopes of lifting him out of the ditch. Three years ago, fans of the Philadelphia Phillies famously buoyed the spirits of underperforming shortstop Trea Turner by giving him the same kind of standing ovation.

Did it work for Tucker? He had the winning hit Saturday, a two-run single in the fifth, and Sunday had a hit and scored a run.

“I feel good this weekend, just the contribution in this game,” he said. “It was great, we got a sweep so can’t complain too much about that.

“I’ve had some good at-bats, a couple barrels. Even [Saturday], a couple balls hit harder, they just didn’t find good spots. But that happens sometimes. Just trying to put together good at-bats, get guys over, man.”

Ohtani’s pitching timeline

Ohtani is on the mend from a left knee injury and could be ready to return to the pitching rotation soon.

Ohtani threw 30 pitches in a live batting-practice session Saturday at Dodger Stadium, marking his first time facing hitters since his last start on July 3. Roberts said that outing puts him in position to return to action soon.

The right-hander is scheduled to throw a bullpen session during the upcoming series at Atlanta, and the Dodgers will then decide whether he’s ready to rejoin the rotation or needs to throw more live batting practice. Roberts said there’s a possibility Ohtani could return as soon as the first week of September.

Last year, when Ohtani was returning from a second career Tommy John surgery, the Dodgers eased him into pitching slowly, starting with one inning and then adding an inning each appearance. Apparently, the team won’t be quite as cautious this time.

“I would say it’d be a little bit more aggressive,” Roberts said.

Asked if that could mean, theoretically, the Ohtani could build up to five innings by the end of the season, the manager said: “In theory, yes.”

Read more:Swanson: Struggling Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker simply needs to relax

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers are now in the midst of a six-game winning streak, as they shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Sunday to complete the three-game sweep.

Shohei Ohtani worked an 11-pitch leadoff walk to begin the game against right-handed reliever Lake Bachar, the longest plate appearance for him this season. Freddie Freeman put runners on the corners with nobody out, and although Mookie Betts grounded into a double play, Ohtani scored to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.

The Dodgers were left silent until the bottom of the fourth inning against Carmen Mlodzinski, as Tommy Edman was plunked before Kyle Tucker singled to put two men on with one out. After Teoscar Hernández struck out looking (and wasted their final ABS challenge), Alek Thomas came through with an RBI single to knock home Edman, giving him two consecutive games with an RBI single in the fourth inning. Hunter Feduccia continued the rally with an RBI single to bring home Tucker and give the Dodgers a three-run lead. The Dodgers added another run in the fifth inning on an RBI groundout from Max Muncy.

Getting just one run was enough for Blake Snell, as he was nearly unhittable after escaping a first-inning jam. Snell allowed a one-out single to Spencer Horwitz in the top of the second, but that was the only hit that the Pirates could muster against the left-hander the rest of the way. The command late in innings became a recurring issue, as Snell gave up a two-out walk in three consecutive innings, but his final inning saw him retire the side in order with a pair of strikeouts.

Snell has dominated in his three starts back from injury, logging a quality start in each. Snell’s scoreless start on Sunday was the first time he didn’t allow a run in the regular season since his 12-strikeout gem against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 17 last year. Snell’s ERA now sits at just 1.00 over his last 18 innings, striking out 21 and walking seven.

Both offenses struggled to produce much of anything over the final four innings of Sunday’s contest, as the Dodgers had just one baserunner with a Tommy Edman walk in the bottom of the eighth while Pittsburgh went 0-13 with one baserunner over their final 4 1/3 innings at the plate.

The Dodgers have taken the season series from the Pirates 5-1, their best record against them in a season since taking all six contests against them in 2021. Sunday’s 4-0 final score was their first shutout win of the second half and their first since shutting out the San Diego Padres 3-0 on July 4.

Game particulars

• WP— Blake Snell (2-1): 6 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
• LP— Lake Bachar (1-3): 2 IP, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 1 strikeout
• SV— Alex Vesia (4): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers begin a six-game road trip after an off day on Monday, with a three-game set against the Atlanta Braves on starting Tuesday (4:15 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tyler Glasnow makes his first start since May 6, while Atlanta has yet to announce their starter.