{"id":712524,"date":"2026-05-30T06:15:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T06:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/712524\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T06:15:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T06:15:33","slug":"justin-wrobleskis-one-hit-gem-delivers-dodgers-to-win-over-phillies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/712524\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Wrobleski’s one-hit gem delivers Dodgers to win over Phillies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dodgers<\/a> lefty Justin Wrobleski<\/a> shouted two words \u2014 the first of which didn\u2019t appear to be fit for print \u2014 and strode off the mound, the icy expression on his face frozen in place all the way to the dugout.<\/p>\n

He had just struck out the side in the fifth inning of the Dodgers\u2019 4-2 win<\/a> Friday against the Phillies, finishing the job by getting Brandon Marsh<\/a> to whiff on a fastball low and in \u2014 the same spot Wrobleski had hit with his slider for a called strike earlier in the at-bat.<\/p>\n

He used his fastball to get to two strikes, too, catching Marsh off guard with, as Wrobleski put it, \u201ca modified, slide-step, out-of-the-windup fastball\u201d off the plate. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it just kind of opened up some space there for the strikeout,\u201d he added. \u201cHe got me last year, and I didn\u2019t want him to get me again.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wrobleski\u2019s performance \u2014 seven innings of one-hit, one-run ball \u2014 was a masterful bounce-back, powered by that fastball. After yielding just two runs in his first five combined starts, Wrobleski hit a rough patch, recording a 6.41 ERA over his last three appearances.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Wrobleski didn\u2019t just rediscover his former dominance. In many ways, he was even better. And he laid the groundwork for the Dodgers\u2019 sixth straight victory, their 13th in 15 games. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just the uptick in fastball velocity,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cThose guys had to honor it. When you can reach back for 97, makes life a lot easier.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wrobleski\u2019s four-seam fastball velocity, sitting at 94.5 mph, was up 1.2 mph over his season average and topped out at 97.2 mph. Wrobleski, who typically relies on pitching to contact, recorded an impressive 54% whiff rate on that pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is sustainable,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cHe\u2019s had good outings, he\u2019s chewed up a lot of innings. But when you can get the swing-and-miss in the zone, that\u2019s kind of a separator for any pitcher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski delivers during the first inning Friday against Philadelphia at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Wrobleski was unhittable for most of the game. Right fielder Kyle Tucker<\/a>\u2019s fielding error gave the Phillies their first baserunner.<\/p>\n

With one out in the fourth inning, Trea Turner<\/a> lifted a fly ball into the gap between Tucker and center fielder Andy Pages. Both tracked it down, and either could have caught it. But at the last second, Pages pulled up to let Tucker make the catch, and Tucker hesitated before flailing after it.<\/p>\n

The ball dropped in, and Turner jogged into second base. Though Wrobleski no longer had a chance at a perfect game, his no-hit bid was still intact.<\/p>\n

The next inning, Wrobleski struck out the side. His eighth strikeout, against Marsh, was a career high.<\/p>\n

But he wasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

Wrobleski recorded a ninth strikeout, for the second out of the sixth, before surrendering a hit.<\/p>\n

It was the second time in as many games that the Dodgers had a no-hitter into the sixth inning \u2014 Shohei Ohtani did the same against the Rockies on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The low fastball Wrobleski threw to Kyle Schwarber in a 1-1 count caught too much of the plate. And Wrobleski nodded, as if in acceptance, before turning to watch the ball fly over the wall in center field for a solo homer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou kind of look at their reaction, and I knew he got it,\u201d said Wrobleski, an Illinois native who rooted for Schwarber early in his career with the Cubs. \u201cI\u2019ve seen that 1,000 times. I grew up a Cubs fan … so I knew what it looks like when he hits a homer. And he got me today.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the fifth home run of the game. All the others belonged to the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run in the third inning Friday against Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The Dodgers had Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler\u2019s number.<\/p>\n

Wheeler, a three-time All-Star, had only given up one home run in his six other starts this season combined. But just seven pitches into his start, Freddie Freeman sliced an opposite-field shot down the left-field line.<\/p>\n

The next inning, Max Muncy skied his own solo homer to right. Ohtani took his turn in the third, sending a laser into the visitor\u2019s bullpen. Then Will Smith, the first right-handed hitter to homer Friday, added a solo shot in the fifth.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, he didn\u2019t pitch that bad of a game tonight,\u201d Muncy said of Wheeler, who gave up five hits in six innings. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have a whole lot of traffic out there, but we took advantage of the few mistakes he made. It was big for us to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wrobleski made even fewer mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just kind of felt like a little bit of a missing piece,\u201d Wrobleski said of his velocity. \u201cJust kind of something that I know I have in me, and it would make me better. And obviously tonight, I had that, and it made me better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dodgers bring back Santiago Espinal \"The <\/p>\n

The Dodgers re-signed utility player Santiago Espinal on Friday and optioned Hyeseong Kim to triple-A Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The Dodgers<\/a> made a series of roster moves Friday, reconfiguring their bench after a wave of injuries.<\/p>\n

They re-signed utility player Santiago Espinal<\/a>, whose skill set was no longer redundant when Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> returned to the injured list, this time with a strained left oblique.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously you don\u2019t ever know how those things are going to play out,\u201d Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes<\/a> said Friday. \u201cSo when he cleared [waivers] and then became a free agent, we had a couple guys go down right away. We reached back out to see if he would be interested in rejoining us. So luckily he was still in L.A. and that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a corresponding move, the Dodgers optioned utility player Hyeseong Kim<\/a> to triple-A Oklahoma City, giving him regular at-bats in a low-pressure environment to work on his swing. And they transferred left-hander Blake Snell<\/a> (left elbow) to the 60-day injured list to clear room on the 40-man roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [Kim\u2019s] swing has changed,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI think he\u2019s losing his legs a little bit, he\u2019s coming around the ball a little bit, there\u2019s a lot more swing-and-miss than there was early. He is just playing, with my eyes, a little bit more tentative, and not as free and easy as he was in some parts of last year and early on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The Dodgers also put Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> (strained left hamstring) on the 10-day IL and recalled outfielder\/first baseman Ryan Ward.<\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez was diagnosed with a grade 1 strain, Roberts said, a less severe injury than expected. But the team does not have a timeline for his return.<\/p>\n

Said Gomes: \u201cOnce he gets going, we\u2019re hoping it\u2019ll be a quick return, and we\u2019ll try to get him some rehab at-bats. When that happened last year, we probably rushed it a bit on that front.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Hern\u00e1ndez played in just one rehab game returning from a strained groin.<\/p>\n

In Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s absence, Alex Call and Ward are expected to share time in left field in what Roberts said won\u2019t be a \u201ccomplete platoon.\u201d The right-handed hitting Call started Friday against the right-handed Wheeler.<\/p>\n

\u201cWheeler is just a really good pitcher,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI want Alex to be in there and just feel that Alex can kind of manage him and take some good at-bats.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski shouted two words \u2014 the first of which didn\u2019t appear to be fit for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[89317,909,5,39,434,3386,5953,1165,4332,4333,8772,3485,21649,774,57,3224,4331,4,1602,13110,1552,1646,9023,4833],"class_list":["post-712524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-address-bench","tag-alex-call","tag-baseball","tag-dodgers","tag-friday","tag-injury","tag-kike-hernandez","tag-la","tag-la-dodgers","tag-ladodgers","tag-last-year","tag-list","tag-little-bit","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesdodgers","tag-mlb","tag-roberts","tag-roster-move","tag-santiago-espinal","tag-series","tag-swing","tag-time"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116662064073071385","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}