 struck out nine and walked three, including a pair of intentional passes to Maikel Franco. He did not allow a hit until J. T. Realmuto singled starting the fifth.''He was on the attack all day and had those guys guessing,'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.The West-leading Dodgers extended their winning streak to five with their seventh series sweep, improving the best home record in the major leagues to 25-7.East-leading Philadelphia lost four in a row for the first time this season and got swept for the first time.''We bumped up against a red-hot team,'' Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ''They outplayed us.'' Andrew McCutchen singled leading off the sixth, and Cesar Hernandez doubled in the seventh for the Phillies' other hits off Hill.Freese homered for the second straight game, connecting in the seventh against Vince Velasquez (2-3). Freese entered in the fifth as a defensive replacement at first base and made a leaping, left-handed grab on a sharply hit liner by Bryce Harper that ended the eighth.''I'm 36 and just about done. I'm here for the ride,'' Freese said. ''I'm having a blast here and it's not really about the 40-plus wins. I really love this group here and they treat me well.'' Freese typically knows when he might enter a game but got pressed into action unexpectedly.''When you get bum-rushed, you're not really ready,'' he said. ''My body was not ready.'' Harper was hitless in four at-bats and was 2 for 12 in the series, dropping his average to .248. Rhys Hoskins went 2 for 11 and McCutchen was 2 for 12 over the three games.Los Angeles matched its highest-scoring inning this season when the Dodgers batted around in the eighth. Alex Verdugo and Freese had RBI singles. Chris Taylor drove in a run with a sacrifice bunt as Freese came home on a throwing error by pitcher Yacksel Rios, careening around third base and nearly falling down. Enrique Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly, and Joc Pederson had a two-run homer.''I didn't fall?'' Freese said, laughing. ''I got 180 feet in me and after that I don't know what's going to happen.'' Phillies starter Nick Pivetta gave up three hits over a season-best six innings, striking out a season-high nine and walking none.''They're a good team but we're a really good team, too,'' Pivetta said. ''When we face them again down the stretch I expect a close series again.'' TRAINER'S ROOMDodgers: LHP Tony Cingrani (left shoulder impingement) will have arthroscopic surgery next week, likely ending his season. ... 1B Matt Beaty left the game because of left hip tightness after the fourth inning. ... 3B Justin Turner walked as a pinch hitter after missing three straight games with hamstring tightness.PHILLIES TRADE FOR BRUCEPhiladelphia acquired former All-Star OF Jay Bruce from Seattle for minor league INF Jake Scheiner. The deal will cost Philadelphia just $2.75 million over the next 1 1/2 seasons. Bruce is hitting .212 with 14 homers and 28 RBIs with 53 strikeouts in 184 at-bats.''Jay Bruce makes our bench stronger and I also think he makes our lineup stronger on days when we'll see a right-handed pitcher,'' Kapler said.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Aaron Nola (6-0, 4.18 ERA) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series at San Diego. He is 1-0 against the Padres, scattering four hits over six scoreless innings last season.Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (5-1, 4.03) starts at Arizona on Monday. He has a 4.70 ERA in three career starts against the D-backs.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Dodgers wrap up non-division stretch vs. PhilliesFLMThe Los Angeles Dodgers will return to division play if they must, but for one more day they will hope to enjoy the latest turn of the schedule.The Dodgers will take on the Philadelphia Phillies at home Sunday afternoon, ending a run of 15 consecutive games against teams east of Colorado.Saturday's dramatic victory over the Phillies, when rookie Will Smith hit a game-ending home run in the ninth inning, made Los Angeles 11-3 in this current stretch.Going back further to May 6, the Dodgers are 19-5, while playing all but two of those games against teams outside the National League West.It is not as if the Dodgers struggle against the National League West. They are 13-5 against their regional foes, with a winning record against three teams and a 3-3 mark against the rival San Francisco Giants. But they have found a comfort zone playing teams like the Phillies, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.So how do the Dodgers feel about things moving to a portion of the schedule where they will have six consecutive games against the division and 26 of the next 32 in the NL West? After all, they have a nine-game lead on the second-place Colorado Rockies."I still think that if we get a few things tightened up, we can be even better," said bench coach Bob Geren, who was the Dodgers' acting manager Friday while manager Dave Roberts attended his son's high school graduation. "But I think anybody would take that." The Dodgers will send left-hander Rich Hill (1-1, 2.73 ERA) to the mound Sunday. He is coming off a season-high 104 pitches against the New York Mets, and over his last three outings he has a 1.50 ERA. Hill is 1-2 lifetime against the Phillies in seven appearances (four starts) with a 4.50 ERA.In an effort to prevent a three-game sweep, the Phillies are expected to start right-hander Nick Pivetta (3-1, 7.71 ERA). Whether Pivetta stays in the Phillies' rotation could depend on how he performs Sunday.Pivetta did make two starts against the Dodgers in 2017, going 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA. His major league debut came at Dodger Stadium on April 30 of that year, when he gave up two runs on nine hits over five innings of a 5-3 defeat.Phillies anager Gabe Kapler went with an opener for the first time Saturday, when left-hander Jose Alvarez delivered two scoreless innings. It is possible that Kapler could go the opener route again Sunday before going to Pivetta at some point.The Dodgers' lineup that is loaded with left-handed power hitters has given many teams fits, with the Phillies no exception. The Dodgers opened Friday's lineup with six consecutive lefty bats, and three of them hit home runs off starter Jake Arrieta."We've been facing good lineups all year," Arrieta said after Friday's defeat. "I get lefties out. You can't miss middle-in with spin to power-hitting left-handed hitters. You just can't do it. That's what I did too many times (Friday)." After winning consecutive series against the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies have already lost their first series since dropping three of four to the Brewers at home in the middle of May.That was also the last time they had lost three consecutive games before the current three-game downturn. The Phillies have not lost four consecutive games this season.--Field Level Media
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