#strikeouts

#strikeouts

The Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitching thus far in the postseason has been dominant. It's one thing to shut down the Cincinnati Reds - a Wild Card team hovering around the .500 mark with an average offense. It's another thing to systematically break down the Philadelphia Phillies on the road in a hostile environment, not to mention limiting the three-headed monster of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper severely thus far.

In his first start, Early used his sinker against lefties to get ahead, turning to sweepers and curveballs to put them away. Against righties, he kept everything down in the zone and "pitched backwards". He used his breaking stuff early in at-bats, turning to more four-seam fastballs and changeups later in counts. He executed his plan, striking out 11 Athletics over five shutout innings.

Payton Tolle's Major League debut was one to remember. The hard-throwing left-hander fanned eight over 5 1/3 sharp innings Friday night, electrifying the Fenway faithful and offering fans a glimpse into the future. Greg Weissert allowed back-to-back doubles, and both runs were charged to Tolle in an eventual 4-2 loss to the Pirates, yet it was still a largely promising opening act for the highly regarded rookie.

Will Venable's performance as a rookie manager in 2025 has been considered average due to a lack of real challenges faced, making him an outstanding hire given previous managers.

Meyer became just the second pitcher in MLB history to record 14 or more strikeouts with zero walks in a start of six innings or fewer.