Muncy Delivers the Hammer as Dodgers Outlast Yankees in Bronx Thriller

The second half of the season could not have started much better for the Dodgers.

After limping into the All-Star break following a disappointing homestand, Los Angeles opened its nine-game road trip by grinding out a 2-1 victory over the Yankees Friday night at Yankee Stadium. It wasn't just Max Muncy's thunderous two-run homer that made the difference. Roki Sasaki delivered one of his most encouraging starts of the season, the bullpen was airtight, and a remarkable relay play in the eighth inning preserved the lead in a game defined by execution.

The Dodgers improved to 62-36 while handing the Yankees another frustrating one-run defeat.

For a moment, however, it looked as though the defensive hiccups that plagued Los Angeles before the break had made the trip to New York.

Andy Pages misplayed a ball in the fourth inning before Dalton Rushing was charged with a passed ball, allowing Jasson Domínguez to score the game's first run and giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead despite very little hard contact against Sasaki.

That slim advantage held until the seventh.

After Mookie Betts worked a leadoff walk against Gerrit Cole, Yankees manager Aaron Boone made a visit to the mound with his ace already over the 100-pitch mark. Cole convinced Boone to leave him in.

Seven pitches later, Boone probably wished he hadn't.

Muncy drove a 416-foot fastball into the second deck in right field, instantly flipping both the scoreboard and the momentum. Just like that, the Dodgers owned a 2-1 lead.

The Yankees mounted one final threat in the eighth.

Trent Grisham drew a walk before Ben Rice lined a drive into the right-center field gap. The ball caromed perfectly off the wall and into Pages' glove, setting in motion one of the game's defining moments.

Pages fired toward the infield, but the throw carried Mookie Betts away from the bag. In one fluid motion, Betts gathered himself, redirected his momentum and fired home. Dalton Rushing applied a perfect tag on Grisham, who never hesitated rounding third.

It wasn't a textbook relay. It looked more like a zig-zag than a straight line. But the only line that mattered was the one on the scoreboard.

The Yankees' best opportunity to tie the game disappeared with Grisham's slide.

Alex Vesia escaped the inning, and Tanner Scott made quick work of New York in the ninth, retiring the side in order for his latest save.

The biggest story, however, may have been Sasaki.

The rookie right-hander tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits while striking out five and walking only one. His fastball repeatedly reached triple digits, topping out at 102 mph, while his splitter generated several uncomfortable swings.

By the end of his outing, though, Sasaki looked like a pitcher running on fumes. He needed 94 pitches to record 17 outs and was visibly laboring as he walked off the mound after preserving the Dodgers' slim lead. For a young starter still adapting to the major league workload, the sixth inning continues to look like the point where the fuel gauge starts flashing.

There was another noticeable change as well.

Roki Sasaki appears to have solved his pitch-tipping issues with the help of an oversized glove that Dodgers radio analyst Rick Monday joked looked like it came from the wheelbarrow aisle at Home Depot. It should be noted that glove size is regulated by Major League Baseball, and judging by appearances, Sasaki seems to be taking advantage of every square inch the rule allows.

Whatever adjustments Sasaki made, they worked.

"I got some break and made some adjustment on my delivery and it helped me out," Sasaki said through an interpreter. "It's just one game so it's really hard to tell what exactly is going on, but I kind of changed the way I use my lower body, so I think this really helped me get the velo up. I didn't feel like I had great intensity, but the velocity was actually there, so I think this is a good thing."

Manager Dave Roberts saw a pitcher who looked far more confident than the one who entered the All-Star break.

"Very impressive," Roberts said. "The velocity...he dialed it up. It reminded me of when Yamamoto first got here and everything ticked up. You could see the focus. He wanted to get off on the right foot in the second half, and he did just that."

Roberts admitted he wasn't expecting to see triple-digit readings throughout the evening.

"I got a big smile on my face when I saw 102," Roberts said. "I didn't know what we were going to get from him."

The Dodgers skipper also praised the club's defense after the eighth-inning escape.

"Just a good ballgame," Roberts said. "That relay from Andy to Mookie, redirecting and making a great throw, and Rushing making a great tag—that was just a good baseball play."

As for Boone's decision to leave Cole in against Muncy, Roberts understood the dilemma.

"It was a tough decision for Boone," Roberts said. "Do you go to the bullpen or let your ace face Max? Max spoiled some good pitches, then got one in his wheelhouse and put a good swing on it."

The Dodgers have six games on this road trip, but Friday's opener felt bigger than just another game in July.

After stumbling into the All-Star break, Los Angeles left the Bronx looking like a club that had hit the reset button. Strong starting pitching, timely power, airtight relief and championship-caliber defense proved to be the perfect formula for opening the second half with a statement victory.