Friday, September 11, 2026

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2026

Kyle Tucker’s grand slam lengthened the Dodgers’ winning streak to eight games while Blake Snell had an outstanding outing.

On Friday night at loanDepot Park, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Miami Marlins, 6–2.

Before the game, the Dodgers scratched Freddie Freeman. He has a sore right knee, preventing him from shifting his weight while hitting. The Dodgers don’t think Freeman will go on the IL and think he will play on Saturday.

Blake Snell has been fantastic since coming off the IL with a record of 4-0 and a 1.04 ERA. Snell didn’t have a fastball command early in the game on Friday. He “was very frustrated” by his inability to go six innings. His changeup was unhittable. He couldn’t throw his curveball for a strike. When he could battle through 5.2 innings without his best stuff, it’s a great sign for the Dodgers. He struck out eight while walking two.

The Dodgers’ bullpen of Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart, Blake Treinen, and Eduardo Henriquez was sharp.

Josue De Paula made his major league debut. Being the first minor leaguer to bypass Triple-A while Andrew Friedman has been President is significant. At 21,  De Paula doesn’t seem fazed by anything, a rarity. He went 0-for-3 with a walk, but his bat quality was impressive. According to Dave Roberts, he will be the DH for the next two games.

There is no secret that Tucker has struggled in a Dodger uniform. Nevertheless, over the last five games, he has a batting average of .353 with two home runs and six RBI. If Tucker wasn’t a Dodger, the Dodgers wouldn’t have won this game. Lacking a triple prevented Tucker from hitting for the cycle. According to Roberts, the batting coaches discovered something in his swing that unlocked his production.

On Saturday, with Tyler Glasnow on the mound, the Dodgers will try to decrease their magic number to four games.