Yamamoto dominates, Ward hits first career homer as Dodgers beat Phillies

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers continue to look every bit like a club finding its stride.

Behind another gritty outing from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a memorable first career home run from Ryan Ward, the Dodgers powered past the Phillies 9-1 on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, securing their fifth consecutive series victory and continuing a dominant stretch that has seen them win 14 of their last 17 games.

At 38-21, the Dodgers finished May with an 18-10 record and now hold a 5½-game lead over the Padres in the National League West, their largest division advantage of the season.

For a team that has spent much of the first two months searching for consistency, Sunday's victory felt like another example of everything clicking at once.

The biggest reason Sunday never felt competitive was Yamamoto.

William Liang-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium.

The right-hander wasn't operating with his sharpest command, but he once again demonstrated why the Dodgers trust him against baseball's best lineups. Facing a Phillies club packed with power and postseason experience, Yamamoto battled through traffic, elevated pitch counts and several stressful innings before delivering 5⅓ scoreless innings.

His final line: 5⅓ innings, four hits, no runs, two walks, one hit batter and 10 strikeouts on 104 pitches.

The 10 strikeouts matched a career high and marked a season-best total, whose ERA dropped to 2.86. Three of those strikeouts came against Major League home run leader Kyle Schwarber.

"My pitches had a good force and energy," Yamamoto said afterward.

The performance perfectly embodied what Roberts praised before the game.

"He beats good teams, he manages stress, can limit damage, he can take a punch early and keep going," Roberts said.

That's exactly what happened Sunday.

Even without his best command, Yamamoto consistently made the pitches he needed when trouble surfaced. Roberts elected to remove him with one out in the sixth inning rather than push him further.

"He could've found a way to get through that sixth inning," Roberts said. "But I felt, to what cost? The good ones know how to get Major League hitters out even when they don't have their best stuff."

The Dodgers made sure Yamamoto had breathing room early.

Alex Freeland opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI double, his first hit since rejoining the club from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Kyle Tucker followed later in the inning with an RBI single that pushed the lead to 2-0.

For Tucker, the afternoon represented a welcome breakthrough.

The All-Star outfielder spent Saturday taking batting practice on the field for the first time all season. He is not the first to do something like this. Shohei Ohtani never takes batting practice outdoors unless he’s struggling at the plate.

It may have paid immediate dividends.

Tucker finished 2-for-4 with a single, a double and an RBI. In the fifth inning, Mookie Betts took a walk then Tucker got a hold of Tanner Banks’ slider and hit it off the wall for a double. Alex Call then hit a two-run single, extending the lead to 6-0.

But the moment everyone inside Dodger Stadium will remember belonged to Ward.

In his first career game at Dodger Stadium, the 28-year-old outfielder launched the first home run of his major league career, a fourth-inning solo shot off Phillies’ Andrew Painter.

The ball disappeared over the fence, and Ward admitted afterward he barely remembers the moment.

"Kind of a blackout, if I'm honest with you," Ward said. "I hit it and just kind of went numb. Watching it go over the fence was really cool and an incredible feeling for sure."

For a player who spent years grinding through the minor leagues while waiting for an opportunity, it was the culmination of countless bus rides, long seasons and unanswered questions.

"He's spent a lot of time in the minors," Roberts said. "Those are special moments."

Ward quickly recovered the baseball afterward and said it will be displayed next to the ball from his first major league hit.

The clubhouse was equally thrilled.

Freeland, who followed Ward's blast with a home run of his own to nearly the same spot in left field, spoke glowingly about his teammate.

"I'm just uber excited for Ryan Ward," Freeland said. "I don't think there's anybody that deserves it more than him. So to share that moment with him is kind of special."

Freeland's resurgence has become one of the more encouraging developments for the Dodgers. After beginning the season on the Opening Day roster, he returned to Triple-A to rebuild his swing. Since being recalled this week, he has looked noticeably more confident and productive.

Sunday was his best game yet.

Freeland finished 2-for-3 with a home run, double, two RBIs and two runs scored.

More importantly, he continues to show an understanding of his role on a veteran roster loaded with stars.

"Everyone in this locker room is a superstar," Freeland said.

That perspective matters for a young player trying to carve out a place on a championship-caliber team.

The offense never slowed after the fourth inning.

Freddie Freeman added a sacrifice fly in the sixth after Andy Pages tripled. Max Muncy crushed his 14th home run of the season in the seventh. By the time the Phillies finally broke through on Bryson Stott's ninth-inning solo homer, the outcome had long been decided.

The Dodgers finished with 13 hits and received contributions from nearly every spot in the lineup. Betts was the only player without a hit going 0-for-3 on Sunday.

Just as importantly, they once again looked like a team playing with confidence, depth and momentum.

Now comes a quick turnaround.

The Dodgers head to Arizona for a four-game series against the Diamondbacks beginning Monday night before returning home next weekend to host the Angels.

After taking two of three from one of the National League's premier contenders, they leave Los Angeles with even more evidence that they're becoming the version of themselves many expected all along.