The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 8-2 in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday, a contest that saw the Yankees' offense struggle against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The loss continues a recent slump for the Yankees, who have now lost five of their last six games.
Yamamoto dominated the Yankees lineup, allowing only four hits and one run over a complete game performance. His only blemish was a home run by Trent Grisham in the fourth inning. The Yankees' offense, which had won four straight games before the All-Star break, showed little punch, reminiscent of a 4-14 stretch they experienced in late June and early July.
Yankees starter Cam Schlittler endured a difficult outing, laboring through 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on eight hits, striking out eight batters without issuing a walk. However, the Dodgers worked deep into counts, driving up Schlittler's pitch count to 98. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI double, followed by an RBI single from Freddie Freeman. After Grisham's home run cut the deficit to 2-1, the Dodgers quickly responded in the fifth, scoring a run on a hit batsman and a bloop double.
The Dodgers broke the game open in the eighth inning against the Yankees' bullpen, scoring five runs. This surge was aided by a couple of instances where Yankees fielders appeared to lose the ball in the sun. Jake Bird was charged with five runs in less than an inning of work, while Camilo Doval also struggled in relief.
The Yankees' offense managed only two runs in total, with their second run coming on a bloop single by Anthony Volpe after a fly ball was lost in the sun. The Dodgers, meanwhile, improved their record to 63-36, while the Yankees fell to 54-44.