The Dodgers erupted early against the New York Yankees on Saturday en route to a commanding 18-2 victory and a series win. The Dodgers have their first winning week since the first full week of May, where they posted a 4-3 record, and are now a perfect 2-0 on City Connect Saturdays in 2025.
Landon Knack struggled to find the zone to begin his day, as he allowed a four pitch walk to the leadoff man Trent Grisham before falling behind in the count 2-0 to Aaron Judge. In a matter of five pitches, Knack got Judge to ground into a double play and got Cody Bellinger to fly out to retire the side.
The Dodgers immediately got their offense going against Will Warren in the bottom of the first, as Shohei Ohtani had his second leadoff hit of the series. Freddie Freeman roped a hit of his own before Will Smith and Max Muncy began the scoring with a pair of RBI singles. A Michael Conforto sacrifice fly pushed the lead to three before Tommy Edman capped the first inning barrage with an RBI double down the left field line.
The Dodgers sent 10 men up to the plate in the first inning, and didn't take their foot off the gas pedal in the second inning. After putting runners at the corners with just one out, Max Muncy attacked a 1-0 fastball from Warren and sent into the left center field pavilion for a three-run home run, giving the Dodgers a 7-0 lead and Muncy his 200th home run of his big league career.
Tommy Edman added his second RBI double of the game before Hyeseong Kim fought off a high and tight fastball from Brent Headrick and sent it into the seats for a two-run home run, pushing the lead to 10 before the Yankees had their first hit of the game.
Landon Knack turned in his best start of the season, as he limited the Yankees to just one run, coming via a home run from Judge, striking out six hitters and tossing over 100 pitches for the second time this season. His work on the mound combined with the offensive outburst ensured that the Dodgers bullpen wouldn't continue to be taxed.
The Dodgers added four more runs in the fifth inning, as Freddie Freeman slammed an RBI double down the right field line before Max Muncy tattooed his second three-run home run of the game to push the lead to a baker's dozen.
Andy Pages added to the fun with his 10th home run of the season off of Luke Weaver in the seventh inning to push the lead to 14. Both Aaron Boone and Dave Roberts decided to put in a position player to toss the final half innings, as Pablo Reyes came on to pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning. He couldn't stop the outpouring of Dodger runs, as Dalton Rushing swatted his first career home run to give the Dodgers 18 runs, just one run shy of their season-high 19 coming against the Athletics on May 15.
It was a perfect celebration for the birthday boy Dave Roberts, who turned 53 years old on Satuday.
The Dodgers will go for a sweep of the Yankees on Sunday (4:10 p.m. PT, ESPN) before the other New York team faces the Dodgers starting on Monday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the start in the series finale against former Dodger Ryan Yarbrough.