Dodgers blow out D-backs, finish 7-2 road trip

Starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto continued his recent dominance with six shutout innings Wednesday night while the Dodgers offense took care of business early in an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Phoenix's Chase Field.

Yamamoto (3-1) held the D-backs to five hits while his offense was roughing up opposing starter Jordan Montgomery (1-2) for six runs in three innings after he was scratched Tuesday. 

Mookie Betts led the way with three hits and two RBI, raising his average to .377. Even with Shohei Ohtani given the day off, the Dodgers (20-13) collected 10 hits and were 2 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Here are three takeaways:

Yamamoto rounding into form 

Since giving up five runs in the first inning of his major league debut in South Korea, Yamamoto has been hard to hit. He has a 1.64 ERA in his last six starts and looks to be getting better every outing. 

The Diamondbacks were 1 for 7 against Yamamoto’s splitter and overall hitters are batting .098 against that pitch. Pairing that with his electric fastball and pinpoint command, he is shaping up to be in all-star conversations.

Dodgers end trip on strong note

After a disappointing middle of April, the Dodgers had a 7-2 record for a road trip that included two countries and three cities.  

The Dodgers have been dominant in that nine-game span, outscoring their opponents 53-19. In their last three games against a division rival, they outscored the D-backs 20-7.

Buehler to return Monday

Dave Roberts said right-hander Walker Buehler will start Monday night against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium. Buehler, who is coming back from his second Tommy John surgery and right flexor tendon repair, make his first major-league start since June 2022.

While he did have an up and down rehab assignment between multiple levels of the minor leagues, he built up to five innings in his final minor-league start for Oklahoma City. 

What does this mean for the team? Well they will most certainly bring him along slow, and if he can even be 80% of what he was at his peak, Buehler could be a crucial piece to the rotation. 

Ideally, it would be realistic to see him and Ryan Yarbrough piggyback four or five innings each. 

The Dodgers have Thursday off before hosting the Atlanta Braves in showdown of two of the National League's first-place teams. Right-hander Gavin Stone (2-1, 4.68 ERA) will take the mound against Charlie Morton (2-0, 3.60) at 7:10 p.m. Friday.