Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing will be behind the plate for Shohei Ohtani tonight. The pair struggled to get on the same page in Ohtani’s most recent start. “Dalton understands this is what he signed up for,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters (h/t Alden Gonzalez of ESPN).
1. Miller dominates again
Mariners righty Bryce Miller carried a no-hitter through six innings on Thursday against the Angels. First baseman Nolan Schanuel broke up the no-hit bid with a bloop single to lead off the seventh inning. “I would have preferred about a 120 [mph] line drive,” Miller said (h/t Daniel Kramer of MLB.com). “I feel like they didn’t really earn those two hits. But it’s all right. They fall sometimes.” Miller allowed another hit to Denzer Guzman, but wriggled out of the jam. He lowered his ERA to 1.71 in nine appearances. Miller has an impressive 62:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio since returning from an oblique injury.
2. Padres allow 12 unanswered
San Diego jumped out to a 6-0 lead against the Dodgers on Thursday. Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Jake Cronenworth all homered off Roki Sasaki in the first two frames. Los Angeles quickly chipped away, scoring multiple times in each of the second through fifth innings. The consistent rallies resulted in a dozen straight runs for the Dodgers. The Padres have now allowed 35 runs over the past two days. They’ve permitted a franchise-record 65 runs in a six-game stretch (h/t Dennis Lin of The Athletic). With six straight losses, San Diego has slipped back to .500 and into a tie with the Diamondbacks for second place in the NL West.
3. Holmes to temporarily rejoin rotation
The Braves will give right-hander Grant Holmes a start on Friday after recently moving him to the bullpen. The move comes after the club chose to skip righty Bryce Elder in the rotation. Elder experienced diminished velocity in his last start. He allowed 24 earned runs in 26 2/3 innings last month. Atlanta has frequently shuffled a rotation that is missing Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach. Reynaldo Lopez and Hurston Waldrep are back in the mix. Carlos Carrasco and JR Ritchie have been up and down with the club. Holmes completed five innings just once in four June starts, so the team shifted him to a long relief role. He fired four scoreless innings in his first appearance out of the bullpen.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
