snell

The heroes for the Dodgers on Sunday needed no introduction.

Fans have known them in blue for entire days.

Alek Thomas. Hunter Feduccia. And a refreshingly rebooted Kyle Tucker, the $60-million-per-year outfielder who for weeks was colder than dry ice.

On a sweltering afternoon when everyone in the seats was using programs to fan themselves, Blake Snell was fanning Pittsburgh Pirates — six strikeouts in six innings of work — and the bottom of the order played like the top of the lineup, providing ample offensive spark for a 4-0 victory that stretched the Dodgers’ winning streak to six games.

Thomas and Feduccia, both understudies to All-Stars, had back-to-back singles to right in the fourth inning to drive in a pair of runs — one of which was Tucker, who earlier reached base with his own single to right. That turned a familiar one-run game into a Sunday stroll and a consecutive sweep, first of Colorado then of Pittsburgh.

In consecutive days, the Dodgers (80-51) got strong performances from starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Snell, who combined for 26 strikeouts, five walks and five earned runs in 19 innings.

That was a welcome breeze for the Dodgers, who earlier this month saw a losing streak grow to seven and eight of nine.

Thomas is replacing center fielder Andy Pages, who suffered a fractured hand when he was hit by a pitch in Friday night’s win over Pittsburgh. The former Arizona Diamondback made a splash in his Dodgers debut Saturday, collecting a hit that drove in Tucker in what would become a 4-3 win over the Pirates (63-69).

Feduccia is one of a rotation of catchers filling in for Will Smith, who is working his way back from a neck injury.

Tucker has been one of the more compelling stories this season. He came into the weekend hitting .189 at Dodger Stadium, and he had gone 0 for 19 in his last homestand. That futility was starting to spill over to his defense, too, as he dropped a routine foul ball in front of a crowd whose patience had long since worn thin.

But on Friday night, there was a concerted effort by Dodgers fans to cheer him loudly every time he stepped to the plate, in hopes of lifting him out of the ditch. Three years ago, fans of the Philadelphia Phillies famously buoyed the spirits of underperforming shortstop Trea Turner by giving him the same kind of standing ovation.

Did it work for Tucker? He had the winning hit Saturday, a two-run single in the fifth inning.

“I haven’t had a hit in the last three homestands,” he said after the Saturday game. “I don’t keep up with stats like that. I just go out there and take the next [at-bat] and try to have a good quality AB.”

Díaz accepts Dodgers’ decision

Meanwhile, Edwin Díaz said before Sunday’s game that he understands the Dodgers’ decision to use him in lower-stake situations rather than immediately relying on him as a closer. The rationale is that strategy will help him rediscover his confidence.

“I know I haven’t done my job,” said Diaz, speaking to reporters at his locker before Sunday’s game. “If I had done my job, I would be in the ninth inning.”

He praised Tanner Scott, who has thrived in that role.

“He’s doing a great job,” Diaz said. “I’m really happy for him.”

Diaz, the team’s biggest offseason acquisition, had elbow surgery early in the season and was out from April to late July. His return wasn’t triumphant, as he had three blown saves and two more shaky outings in non-save situations.

After a game against the Colorado Rockies last week, he complained of a neck issue and was placed on the injured list. He has more than a week remaining before he returns.

Diaz said he underwent an MRI scan on his neck and nothing unusual was revealed. He’s working with coaches on making a small adjustment to his delivery.

“They showed me a couple videos from last year — my arm slot’s always a little low,” he said. “We’re working now to get it higher and more consistent in that position.”

The goal, naturally, is to make good on the expectations the Dodgers had for him when they signed him to a three-year, $69-million deal.

“That’s why they signed me here,” he said. “To be the closer.”

Pages update

The wait could be longer for Pages, who underwent a minor surgery to repair the fracture in his left hand and is expected to miss at least four weeks.

The team acquired Thomas, who’s strong defensively but has some big cleats to fill in replacing the offensive production of Pages.

“Andy’s shown he’s the complete player,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And so we kind of backfilled the defensive part of it. But to lose the bat, that’s a big loss.”

Thomas did his part at the plate in both weekend games, however.

Ohtani’s pitching timeline

Shohei Ohtani is on the mend from a left knee injury and could be ready to return to the pitching rotation soon.

Ohtani threw 30 pitches in a live batting-practice session Saturday at Dodger Stadium, marking his first time facing hitters since his last start on July 3. Roberts said that outing puts him in position to return to action soon.

The right-hander is scheduled to throw a bullpen session during the upcoming series at Atlanta, and the Dodgers will then decide whether he’s ready to rejoin the rotation or needs to throw more live batting practice. Roberts said there’s a possibility Ohtani could return as soon as the first week of September.

Last year, when Ohtani was returning from a second career Tommy John surgery, the Dodgers eased him into pitching slowly, starting with one inning and then adding an inning each appearance. Apparently, the team won’t be quite as cautious this time.

“I would say it’d be a little bit more aggressive,” Roberts said.

Asked if that could mean, theoretically, the Ohtani could build up to five innings by the end of the season, the manager said: “In theory, yes.”

DENVER — Shohei Ohtani paused to admire the flight of his no-doubt home run as it sailed to right-center field.

Clearly on a home-run trajectory, it was headed toward the visitor’s bullpen. From among the trees, Dodgers reliever Kyle Hurt’s glove shot up and secured the ball.

As Ohtani circled the bases, the bullpen turned into a mosh pit around Hurt.

In what has been a brutal August for the Dodgers, the vibes were undeniably high.

Maybe all the Dodgers needed was a trip to the Mile High City.

En route to an 11-5 win over the Rockies, Ohtani’s two-run blast in the sixth inning — his second homer of the game — widened the Dodgers’ lead to eight runs, a comfortable lead even at hitter-friendly Coors Field.

“Consistency is key, but today I think we should [come] away with a lot of big confidence,” said Ohtani, through interpreter Will Ireton, after his four-hit performance. “Doing this every day is what matters, but I think this is a big game for us.”

Even with Monday’s win, the Dodgers have a 6-10 record in August. And they entered Monday with a paltry .672 OPS, on pace for their worst offensive month of the season. For comparison, it posted a .710 OPS in July — its worst complete month.

There are plenty of asterisks to put on Monday’s victory. The altitude in Denver elevates any offense. And the Rockies have the worst record (50-75) in the National League.

Maybe what the Dodgers (75-51) needed most — after dropping three of four to the Brewers at Dodger Stadium and handing over the season series (and tiebreaker if it comes down to that) — was a lighter series to loosen them up.

“I think it kind of gets to what makes you good as an offense,” manager Dave Roberts said, “and that’s what makes us good: earning pitches, winning counts, spoiling pitches, those kinds of things.”

It was already working by the second inning when Max Muncy scored from first on Mookie Betts’ double into the left-center gap of the expansive Coors Field outfield.

The next inning, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages singled one after another for a second run.

Then Muncy, after falling behind 0-2 and then working an eight-pitch at-bat, demolished a sinker that Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano left over the center of the plate, giving it a ride to the second deck in right-center.

“That’s who we are,” Roberts said. “That’s what we’ve been searching for for quite some time. And today, I thought the at-bat that really kind of encapsulates who we are is the Muncy at-bat.”

It was Muncy’s third home run in five games, and they’ve all been momentum-swingers. His pinch-hit home run Thursday gave the Dodgers the lead over the Brewers — before Edwin Díaz’s blown save. On Sunday, his solo shot temporarily tied the score before the Dodgers’ loss.

On Monday, his three-run blast put the Dodgers up 5-0 in the third.

Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell delivers against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning Monday.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who held the Rockies to one run and two hits in six innings, dominated the first two innings. Even with the altitude affecting the shape of his pitches, he was getting whiffs on his curveball. And he paired it with his four-seamer (and threw just one changeup) to retire six straight batters.

Then in the third, he temporarily lost command. Snell walked three straight, throwing 21 pitches. Snell got Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy to ground into a fielder’s choice, but it pushed a run across. But Snell avoided further damage by inducing Jordan Beck to fly out and Cole Carrigg to strike out.

He threw three straight curveballs to Carrigg, bouncing the first and last in the dirt, and Carrigg swung at all three.

Getting back on track, Snell navigated around a pair of singles in the fourth inning, before retiring the Rockies in order in the fifth and sixth.

“Certainly altitude kind of can play tricks on your stuff,” Roberts said. “But if there’s conviction behind your throw, you can still get major-league hitters out. And he proved that tonight.”

Meanwhile, the Dodgers added two more insurance runs in the fifth with a solo homer from Ohtani, a double from Pages and a couple of defensive bobbles by the Rockies.

Ohtani’s two-run homer in the next inning, followed soon after by an RBI single from Pages, made the Dodgers’ lead insurmountable.

The Rockies got one back in the seventh, with some help from Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker, who dropped a flyball. Then in the eighth, the Dodgers took advantage of an error by Carrigg in center field that allowed Ohtani to advance to second. Freeman drove him in with a double.

With an 11-2 lead, the Dodgers sent Díaz, who hadn’t pitched since Friday, to the mound for the ninth. Still working through delivery problems, he gave up four hits, three runs and hit a batter.

“Obviously the results weren’t good,” Roberts said. “But I still think that him getting out there, pitching major-league innings, is going to help him. So yeah, we’re still working through some things.”

Ohtani scheduled to throw

Ohtani said he’ll throw a bullpen session Tuesday, “assuming everything feels good.” It will be his third bullpen since receiving an Orthovisc injection in his left knee at the beginning of the All-Star break to lubricate the joint, but his second since restarting his throwing program. He last threw Friday, in a 34-pitch session.

“It’s nice to feel the progress on the pitching side,” Ohtani said. “And it just feels better, just going into the game as a hitter, less to focus, less to worry about.”

He said the hope is that he has gotten through the worst of his knee problem and won’t have any more setbacks.

“That’s the reason why we’ve been pretty careful in the rehab process,” he said, “and that’s the ideal outcome, to make sure that I come back as soon as possible.”

Dodgers southpaw Blake Snell called his shot.

It wasn’t quite Babe Ruth pointing from the batter’s box. The moment won’t make its way into any movie. But Snell did tell manager Dave Roberts over text message that he was going to throw six innings in his first start back from the injured list after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.

Then, en route to a 5-4 walk-off Dodgers victory in 10 innings against the Royals, Snell did just that.

“I knew that’s what the plan was coming in, and I really wanted to execute that plan,” Snell said after limiting the Royals to one run and three hits.

Despite Snell’s resume, the two-time Cy Young winner wasn’t guaranteed a smooth return. It had been three months since he’d last started a major-league game. And it was only his second start of the season, after a late buildup in spring training due to shoulder fatigue, a May season debut against the Braves, and surgery shortly after.

Eventually getting back this version of him, however, was key to the Dodgers’ postseason aspirations.

“I think the biggest thing was just being aggressive,” Snell said. “Be in the zone, attack. I know how good my stuff is, so I didn’t want to just be nibbling and then complaining like, ‘Oh that’s a strike.’ I didn’t want to do any of that again like I did versus Atlanta.”

That was a short and not so sweet season debut. He exited after three innings, having put his team in a five-run (four earned runs) hole.

The difference Tuesday was “stark,” as Roberts put it.

To clear room on the roster to activate Snell, the Dodgers (72-48) optioned left-handed pitcher Charlie Barnes to triple-A and transferred right-handed reliever Blake Treinen (right elbow inflammation) from the 15-day IL to the 60-day. Though he has not yet begun a minor-league rehab assignment, manager Dave Roberts said Treinen has not had a setback.

Snell, who had 10 strikeouts Tuesday, kept the Royals off balance all night leaning on a fastball that had a little extra life to it, a curveball that generated a 63% whiff rate, and a changeup that was especially effective against right-handed hitters.

Max Muncy and teammates celebrate after his walk-off single Tuesday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

“I was more calm than I thought I was going to be, so that was good,” Snell said. “But the curveball’s finally coming back to how I remember it being. It was always a pitch that was a wipeout, I could throw it, but now I’m finally releasing it where I need to release it. And I’m kind of releasing everything in the same slot out in front.”

Counterintuitively, Snell pointed to his last rehab start, in high-altitude Salt Lake City, as another factor that helped lock him in for Tuesday. It’s a notoriously difficult place to pitch, with the thin mountain air affecting the way the ball moves.

“To have that start and be that frustrated pitching knowing that I can’t throw anything that I want with any shape,” Snell said, “to be able to come here and just pitch and know I can throw a curveball where I want, whenever I want, and a fastball, that felt way better.

“But Salt Lake was so difficult. Oh my God. If I played in Salt Lake growing up, I don’t know if I’d be here today.”

Roberts set expectations low in his pregame availability, saying the hope was to get Snell through five innings. Snell had other plans.

He struck out the side in the first inning and retired the first 10 hitters he faced.

When he finally gave up back-to-back singles to the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone, neither was particularly well struck — a soft line drive and a grounder that found a hole on the right side of the infield.

With runners on the corners and one out, Snell gave up the only run of his start, on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez.

The next inning, Snell worked around a leadoff hit — a blooper into shallow right field that speedy Tyler Tolbert stretched into a double — and a stolen base, to strand Tolbert at third.

Back out for the sixth, Snell retired the side in order. He finished his outing by getting Perez to chase a changeup below the zone and pop it up behind second base.

“He was fantastic tonight,” Roberts said. “And you know we pushed him a little bit into the six and through the six, but just because he was so efficient, certainly that extra inning was huge for us.”

It was especially important once the back and forth in late innings pushed the game into extras.

Hard-throwing right-hander Seth Halvorsen tossed a scoreless tenth inning in his Dodgers debut, setting up Max Muncy for a walk-off single in the bottom half of the inning.

“That’s the Snell that we’re used to seeing,” Muncy said. “And hopefully we have him for the next two, three months — for the long run.”