Dodgers grab series victory from Guardians on backs of Flaherty, Ohtani

It was a scorching hot day in Los Angeles, but the Dodgers slugged their way to victory and claimed the series in a 4-0 shutout victory over the Guardians on Sunday afternoon.

The main story was the gem from Jack Flaherty (12-6), who improved to 5-1 in a Dodgers uniform this season. He spun 7 1/3 dominant innings on 92 pitches (59 strikes), allowing just four hits and striking out six. 

Los Angeles used a couple of big hits to get on the board in both the fourth and fifth innings.

Mookie Betts slapped a leadoff triple and would come around to score on an RBI single from Will Smith.

In the fifth, Shohei Ohtani demolished a ball down the right-field line that just stayed fair for a solo shot.

In the eighth, the squad came through twice more. A Max Muncy solo home run and a Chris Taylor RBI single finished up the scoring on the day as Los Angeles coasted across the finish line.

Michael Kopech and Evan Phillips combined for 1 2/3 innings of shutout baseball to close it out. 

The Dodgers (86-57) improved to 47-25 at home. Their lead over the Padres in the NL West stands at six games following San Diego's loss to San Francisco.

Shohei inches closer

Following a multi-hit day that featured a monstrous home run, Ohtani is at 46-46 in his chase to the coveted 50-50 season. His fifth-inning bomb off Tanner Bibee hooked inside of the right-field foul pole to make it 2-0.

With the home run, he tied his single-season career high. The 30-year-old hit 46 home runs in 2021 as a part of his MVP season with the Los Angeles Angels.

He finished 2 for 4 on Sunday, delivering his third multi-hit game of September. It was also his second home run of the month.

Ohtani owns the highest OPS in the National League at .992, tied with Bobby Witt Jr. for the third highest in all of Major League Baseball. His .618 slugging percentage also leads the National League, with Marcel Ozuna the next closest at .564.

With six series remaining in the regular season, he should have plenty of time in his pursuit of history. Additionally, his next homer will set a new career-high.

Flaherty's gem

The 103-degree temperature at first pitch, tied for the hottest at Dodger Stadium, did not seem to affect Flaherty. He delivered his longest Dodgers start and gave Cleveland no chance.

The right-hander was locked in all afternoon, starting the game with a 1-2-3 frame.

He allowed a single in each of the next three innings but did not budge as he gathered his first strikeout of the game in the process. Flaherty seemed to get better as the game progressed, delivering his best work from innings five and beyond.

From innings five to seven, Flaherty collected six of his seven strikeouts while holding the Guardians also went hitless in that time span.

He retired 12 straight batters before conceding a one-out single to Tyler Freeman in the eighth that ended his day. Kopech helped to end the frame scoreless.

Following his best start in LA, he has a 2.61 NL ERA with 47 strikeouts in seven appearances. He has allowed one run in 13 total innings across September.

Kopech's resurgence

Los Angeles, which has a special ability to turn struggling pitchers into shutdown arms, has done it again with Kopech. The 28-year-old right-hander has looked like a brand new player since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline.

Since joining the Dodgers, he has posted a 3-0 record with a 0.53 ERA, 21 strikeouts and three saves in 17 appearances. With Chicago, he was 2-8 with a 4.74 ERA across 43 appearances.

He delivered two-thirds of an inning to get Los Angeles through the eighth and protect the shutout. He finished off his outing with a high-heat strikeout to fan Kyle Manzardo.

Kopech has allowed just one run with the Dodgers and has walked four. He has not taken a loss since July 7, pointing to the approximate time when his turnaround began.

Evan Phillips who shut the door in the ninth inning. He worked around a pair of leadoff singles and a walk, completing LA's 12th shutout of the season.

The Guardians were shutout for the 15thg time.

The Dodgers will welcome the Cubs to town at 7:10 p.m. Monday, beginning a three-game series and close their six-game homestand. Chicago has gone 21-12 across August and September, beginning to make a little bit of noise in the NL Wild Card race.

Los Angeles, which leads the season series 2-1, will start right-hander Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.67 ERA) against Chicago right-hander Kyle Hendricks (3-11, 6.60 ERA).