Dodgers Take Series From Tigers Behind Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernández

The Los Angeles Dodgers badly needed a game that did not come down to the final pitch.

On Sunday, they finally got one.

Los Angeles pulled away for a 6-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, taking two of three in the series and ending an otherwise difficult road trip on a positive note.

Tyler Glasnow delivered seven dominant innings in his second start since returning from the injured list, while Teoscar Hernández broke a 1-1 tie with a towering two-run home run in the sixth. The Dodgers then added three insurance runs in the eighth to put the game away.

After being swept in Atlanta and then splitting the first two games in Detroit by identical 2-1 scores, Sunday offered something Los Angeles had not experienced much lately:

separation.

The six runs were the Dodgers’ most in nine games.

Glasnow Looks More Comfortable in Second Start Back

The strongest development of the afternoon may have come on the mound.

Glasnow allowed just one run on two hits across seven innings, striking out six and walking one. He improved to 4-0 and lowered his season ERA to 2.79.

Detroit’s only run came in the fourth.

Gleyber Torres singled, advanced on a wild pitch and eventually scored when Kevin McGonigle lined an RBI single to left.

Those were the only two hits the Tigers recorded against Glasnow all afternoon.

Outside of that inning, Detroit generated virtually nothing.

That was particularly encouraging considering Glasnow had returned from the 60-day injured list only five days earlier in Atlanta.

His first start back featured a difficult three-run first inning before he settled down and completed five frames.

Sunday looked considerably cleaner.

Glasnow said afterward that he feels himself beginning to settle into a rhythm again, something the Dodgers will gladly hear with September and October approaching.

The Dodgers do not need Glasnow merely healthy enough to take the ball.

They need him sharp enough to become a legitimate postseason weapon.

Sunday looked like another significant step in that direction.

Dodgers Strike First, But Detroit Answers

The afternoon began with a one-hour, three-minute rain delay before Glasnow and Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez settled into a pitchers’ duel.

Los Angeles had an early chance in the second inning after putting two runners in scoring position with one out, but Valdez struck out Kyle Tucker and Kiké Hernández to escape without allowing a run.

That type of missed opportunity has become all too familiar lately.

The Dodgers stranded 15 runners in Friday’s win and continued struggling to cash in during Saturday’s 2-1 loss.

They finally broke through in the fourth.

Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández delivered consecutive one-out singles before Miguel Rojas lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Freeman and giving Los Angeles a 1-0 advantage.

Detroit responded in the bottom half through McGonigle, leaving the game tied at 1-1.

For a moment, it appeared another low-scoring one-run game might be developing.

Then Hernández changed everything.

Teoscar Hernández Finally Gets the Big Hit

Freeman doubled with one out in the sixth, bringing Hernández to the plate against Valdez.

Hernández got a changeup and did not miss it.

He launched the pitch an estimated 434 feet, giving Los Angeles a 3-1 lead with his 12th home run of the season. It was Hernández’s first homer since Aug. 3.

The swing carried extra significance because Hernández had been searching for exactly that kind of moment.

He entered Sunday amid questions about his offensive production and potential role as the Dodgers consider roster changes in September.

Instead of another discussion about what had gone wrong, Hernández gave Los Angeles the decisive hit of the game.

He finished the afternoon reaching base three times, scoring twice and driving in two.

For a lineup that has lacked consistent power recently, seeing Hernández drive a ball that far was an encouraging sight.

Freeman Continues to Create Offense

Freeman played a major role in nearly everything the Dodgers accomplished offensively Sunday.

He finished with two hits, two walks and three runs scored, reaching base four times.

He scored the Dodgers’ first run after his fourth-inning single.

His sixth-inning double set up Hernández’s go-ahead homer.

And he reached again during the eighth-inning rally that effectively ended the game.

Freeman had already provided the winning hit in Friday’s series opener and continued to be one of the Dodgers’ most dependable offensive contributors throughout the weekend.

Los Angeles still needs more consistent production throughout the order, but Freeman once again gave the hitters around him opportunities to do damage.

On Sunday, they finally took advantage.

Dodgers Finally Create Some Breathing Room

The Dodgers had spent their previous five games living almost exclusively inside one-run margins.

Sunday’s eighth inning changed that.

Mookie Betts doubled with one out before Freeman walked.

A throwing error by Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler on a pickoff attempt moved both runners up, and Tanner Rainey then hit Hernández to load the bases.

Betts scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-1.

Max Muncy, pinch-hitting for Rojas, followed with an RBI single that brought Freeman home.

Another Rainey wild pitch allowed Hernández to score, giving the Dodgers a 6-1 advantage.

Not every run came from a booming hit.

That did not matter.

The Dodgers had spent much of the previous week failing to turn opportunities into runs. On Sunday, they forced Detroit into mistakes and capitalized when those mistakes arrived.

After so many games in which one missed opportunity felt enormous, a five-run cushion must have felt almost foreign.

Bullpen Finishes What Glasnow Started

Glasnow’s seven innings meant the Dodgers did not need to ask much from the bullpen.

Kyle Hurt worked a scoreless eighth, and Seth Halvorsen handled the ninth to finish the victory. Detroit did not record another hit after McGonigle’s fourth-inning RBI single.

That gave Tigers hitters just two hits for the entire game.

For a Dodgers pitching staff that has increasingly looked like a strength, Sunday continued a promising trend.

Tarik Skubal allowed one run over six innings Friday.

Blake Snell allowed one run while striking out 10 Saturday.

Glasnow followed with one run over seven Sunday.

The Dodgers received excellent starting pitching throughout the Detroit series.

This time, the offense did enough to make sure it resulted in a comfortable win.

Dodgers Take Two of Three After Atlanta Sweep

The series victory mattered because of what came immediately before it.

Los Angeles arrived in Detroit having been swept in three games by the Braves.

Friday’s 2-1 victory snapped the losing streak.

Saturday’s 2-1 walk-off loss raised familiar offensive concerns again.

Sunday provided the response the Dodgers needed, giving them two wins in three games and preventing the frustrations from Atlanta from turning into a prolonged slide.

The Dodgers finished the six-game road trip just 2-4, so nobody inside the organization is likely to celebrate the overall results.

They also finished August at 13-14, their only losing month of the season. Dave Roberts described it afterward as a “very forgettable” month.

Still, finishing that month with a series win is considerably better than carrying another loss into September.

Was Sunday the Start of an Offensive Turnaround?

That is the larger question.

One six-run game does not erase several weeks of inconsistent offense.

Shohei Ohtani went hitless Sunday.

Tommy Edman also went without a hit.

The Dodgers still had moments early in the afternoon when scoring opportunities disappeared without producing anything.

But there were encouraging signs.

Freeman reached base four times.

Hernández produced the kind of extra-base damage Los Angeles has been missing.

Betts doubled during the eighth-inning rally.

Rojas drove in a run without needing a hit.

Muncy came off the bench and delivered.

The Dodgers worked walks and forced Detroit into difficult situations.

That is much closer to the type of connected offense Los Angeles needs in September.

Roberts said after the game that he liked the quality of the at-bats, the walks and the way the Dodgers controlled the strike zone and built innings.

Whether that carries into the next series remains to be seen.

Dodgers Head Home With Momentum — and Plenty Still to Fix

Los Angeles returns home Tuesday to begin a nine-game homestand.

The Dodgers are 82-55, still very much in the battle for one of the National League’s two first-round postseason byes.

September will bring roster reinforcements, postseason rotation decisions and increasingly important games in the seeding race.

Sunday did not solve everything.

It did not erase the Atlanta sweep.

It did not make August a successful month.

And it did not prove the offense is suddenly fixed.

But after a stretch filled with one-run losses and missed opportunities, the Dodgers finally paired dominant starting pitching with enough offense to take control of a game.

Glasnow looked like the pitcher Los Angeles hopes to rely on in October.

Hernández delivered the swing the lineup had been waiting for.

And the Dodgers left Detroit with something they badly needed:

a series victory and a little momentum heading into September.