Latest news with #Vesia
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Laker legend Magic Johnson praises Dodgers' $2M strikeout reliever after impressive Padres outing
Laker legend Magic Johnson praises Dodgers' $2M strikeout reliever after impressive Padres outing originally appeared on The Sporting News The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off a weekend sweep of their division rival, the San Diego Padres. After a stretch where it looked like they were starting to lose their way, the Dodgers have seemingly turned the page and returned to form. One of the major concerns lately has been the bullpen—and things aren't getting better, with Brusdar Graterol likely out for the rest of the season. 'Graterol underwent surgery after the World Series to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. It's a major procedure with a long timetable for recovery, and Graterol was not expected to pitch this year before the All-Star break. Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers placed Graterol on the injured list in March. Although Graterol had reported to the Dodgers' Camelback Ranch complex in Arizona to begin his rehab, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday the pitcher has not been cleared to begin a throwing program. Now, Roberts said, it appears unlikely Graterol will have enough time to pitch in 2025,' SI's JP Hoornstra reported. There is some bullpen help on the way, but it's not all encouraging. Michael Kopech is currently on a rehab assignment, though his recent outing was far from promising. 'Dodgers Michael Kopech's inning for OKC — faced 6 batters, gave up 2 hits, 2 SBs, walked two, threw a wild pitch. Charged with 3 runs in 2/3 IP. 24 pitches only 10 strikes,' Dodgers beat writer Bill Plunkett wrote. Despite the bullpen issues, there were positive signs during the Padres series. After the sweep, former Lakers star Magic Johnson gave a shoutout to reliever Alex Vesia. 'Mookie Betts hit the game winning home run today as my Dodgers swept the Padres and took a two-game lead in the Division. Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages added home runs in today's 5-4 victory and Alex Vesia did great in relief,' Johnson posted. Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp Johnson's shoutout to Vesia highlighted a rare bright spot in a bullpen that has struggled lately. Vesia appeared twice over the weekend, throwing nearly two innings in relief. For both Vesia and the Dodgers, this series could mark a much-needed turning point in what's been a shaky stretch for the bullpen.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Clutch performances by Betts and Vesia help Dodgers sweep Padres for first time since 2023
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia gave up the tying run to the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning and was told he was out of the game. A defiant Vesia said no. He went to manager Dave Roberts and told him he wanted the ball again in the ninth if the Dodgers regained the lead. They did, on Mookie Betts' tiebreaking homer, and Vesia was back on the mound facing the Padres' top three hitters. 'It's one of those moments where you got to just trust your player,' Roberts said, 'and I trusted him.' Vesia induced pop fouls from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez before striking out Manny Machado to end the game. Vesia screamed in celebration as the crowd roared. The 5-4 victory extended the Dodgers' lead over the Padres in the NL West to two games. San Diego arrived in Los Angeles with a one-game lead along with a five-game winning streak. The Dodgers came in on a four-game skid. They improved to 8-2 against the Padres this season with their first three-game sweep of San Diego since May 12-13, 2023. The Padres got swept for the first time since May 20-22 at Toronto while getting outscored 14-6. 'We know as a group how good we are and last three games it's shown,' Vesia said. 'We put our heads down and we're going to keep going.' The teams face each other again starting Friday in San Diego. 'What I saw was urgency,' Roberts said. 'The way we played is what we should expect.' Vesia had been in a funk in August, with a 7.20 ERA in seven appearances and opponents hitting .353 against him. He gave up an RBI groundout to Jose Iglesias that tied the game at 4 in the eighth. Then Betts rescued the Dodgers with the 394-foot shot to left-center off Robert Suarez. It was the shortstop's 13th homer of the season and just his fifth since June. Betts had 25 in 2022 and 39 in 2023. 'Finally I did something good for the boys,' Betts said. 'I feel like I've done a decent job with the glove, but with the bat I haven't really done much.' Dogged by injuries, slumping offense and bullpen woes in recent weeks, the Dodgers saw their nine-game division lead evaporate earlier in the week. They have 1 1/2 months left to get themselves in a stronger position to open defense of their World Series championship. 'The last three days we sort of performed and not just talked about it,' Roberts said, 'so that was really good to see.' ___ AP MLB:
San Francisco Chronicle
11 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Clutch performances by Betts and Vesia help Dodgers sweep Padres for first time since 2023
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia gave up the tying run to the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning and was told he was out of the game. A defiant Vesia said no. He went to manager Dave Roberts and told him he wanted the ball again in the ninth if the Dodgers regained the lead. They did, on Mookie Betts' tiebreaking homer, and Vesia was back on the mound facing the Padres' top three hitters. 'It's one of those moments where you got to just trust your player,' Roberts said, 'and I trusted him.' Vesia induced pop fouls from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez before striking out Manny Machado to end the game. Vesia screamed in celebration as the crowd roared. The 5-4 victory extended the Dodgers' lead over the Padres in the NL West to two games. San Diego arrived in Los Angeles with a one-game lead along with a five-game winning streak. The Dodgers came in on a four-game skid. They improved to 8-2 against the Padres this season with their first three-game sweep of San Diego since May 12-13, 2023. The Padres got swept for the first time since May 20-22 at Toronto while getting outscored 14-6. 'We know as a group how good we are and last three games it's shown,' Vesia said. 'We put our heads down and we're going to keep going.' The teams face each other again starting Friday in San Diego. 'What I saw was urgency,' Roberts said. 'The way we played is what we should expect.' Vesia had been in a funk in August, with a 7.20 ERA in seven appearances and opponents hitting .353 against him. He gave up an RBI groundout to Jose Iglesias that tied the game at 4 in the eighth. Then Betts rescued the Dodgers with the 394-foot shot to left-center off Robert Suarez. It was the shortstop's 13th homer of the season and just his fifth since June. Betts had 25 in 2022 and 39 in 2023. 'Finally I did something good for the boys,' Betts said. 'I feel like I've done a decent job with the glove, but with the bat I haven't really done much.' Dogged by injuries, slumping offense and bullpen woes in recent weeks, the Dodgers saw their nine-game division lead evaporate earlier in the week. They have 1 1/2 months left to get themselves in a stronger position to open defense of their World Series championship. 'The last three days we sort of performed and not just talked about it,' Roberts said, 'so that was really good to see.'
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Clutch performances by Betts and Vesia help Dodgers sweep Padres for first time since 2023
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia gave up the tying run to the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning and was told he was out of the game. A defiant Vesia said no. He went to manager Dave Roberts and told him he wanted the ball again in the ninth if the Dodgers regained the lead. They did, on Mookie Betts' tiebreaking homer, and Vesia was back on the mound facing the Padres' top three hitters. 'It's one of those moments where you got to just trust your player,' Roberts said, 'and I trusted him.' Vesia induced pop fouls from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez before striking out Manny Machado to end the game. Vesia screamed in celebration as the crowd roared. The 5-4 victory extended the Dodgers' lead over the Padres in the NL West to two games. San Diego arrived in Los Angeles with a one-game lead along with a five-game winning streak. The Dodgers came in on a four-game skid. They improved to 8-2 against the Padres this season with their first three-game sweep of San Diego since May 12-13, 2023. The Padres got swept for the first time since May 20-22 at Toronto while getting outscored 14-6. 'We know as a group how good we are and last three games it's shown,' Vesia said. 'We put our heads down and we're going to keep going.' The teams face each other again starting Friday in San Diego. 'What I saw was urgency,' Roberts said. 'The way we played is what we should expect.' Vesia had been in a funk in August, with a 7.20 ERA in seven appearances and opponents hitting .353 against him. He gave up an RBI groundout to Jose Iglesias that tied the game at 4 in the eighth. Then Betts rescued the Dodgers with the 394-foot shot to left-center off Robert Suarez. It was the shortstop's 13th homer of the season and just his fifth since June. Betts had 25 in 2022 and 39 in 2023. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'Finally I did something good for the boys,' Betts said. 'I feel like I've done a decent job with the glove, but with the bat I haven't really done much.' Dogged by injuries, slumping offense and bullpen woes in recent weeks, the Dodgers saw their nine-game division lead evaporate earlier in the week. They have 1 1/2 months left to get themselves in a stronger position to open defense of their World Series championship. 'The last three days we sort of performed and not just talked about it,' Roberts said, 'so that was really good to see.' ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Clutch performances by Betts and Vesia help Dodgers sweep Padres for first time since 2023
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia gave up the tying run to the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning and was told he was out of the game. A defiant Vesia said no. He went to manager Dave Roberts and told him he wanted the ball again in the ninth if the Dodgers regained the lead. They did, on Mookie Betts' tiebreaking homer, and Vesia was back on the mound facing the Padres' top three hitters. 'It's one of those moments where you got to just trust your player,' Roberts said, 'and I trusted him.' Vesia induced pop fouls from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez before striking out Manny Machado to end the game. Vesia screamed in celebration as the crowd roared. The 5-4 victory extended the Dodgers' lead over the Padres in the NL West to two games. San Diego arrived in Los Angeles with a one-game lead along with a five-game winning streak. The Dodgers came in on a four-game skid. They improved to 8-2 against the Padres this season with their first three-game sweep of San Diego since May 12-13, 2023. The Padres got swept for the first time since May 20-22 at Toronto while getting outscored 14-6. 'We know as a group how good we are and last three games it's shown,' Vesia said. 'We put our heads down and we're going to keep going.' The teams face each other again starting Friday in San Diego. 'What I saw was urgency,' Roberts said. 'The way we played is what we should expect.' Vesia had been in a funk in August, with a 7.20 ERA in seven appearances and opponents hitting .353 against him. He gave up an RBI groundout to Jose Iglesias that tied the game at 4 in the eighth. Then Betts rescued the Dodgers with the 394-foot shot to left-center off Robert Suarez. It was the shortstop's 13th homer of the season and just his fifth since June. Betts had 25 in 2022 and 39 in 2023. 'Finally I did something good for the boys,' Betts said. 'I feel like I've done a decent job with the glove, but with the bat I haven't really done much.' Dogged by injuries, slumping offense and bullpen woes in recent weeks, the Dodgers saw their nine-game division lead evaporate earlier in the week. They have 1 1/2 months left to get themselves in a stronger position to open defense of their World Series championship. 'The last three days we sort of performed and not just talked about it,' Roberts said, 'so that was really good to see.' ___ AP MLB:
