Dodgers blank Reds in Walker Buehler’s first win in 2 years

Walker Buehler pitched six scoreless innings in his third start in nearly two years, Freddie Freeman had an RBI and two runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 4-0 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

Buehler (1-1) gave up three hits over six innings with no walks and seven strikeouts as he earned a win for the first time since May 24, 2022. He made just three more starts that season before undergoing his second Tommy John surgery and enduring a lengthy rehab process.

Freeman batted second for Los Angeles while Shohei Ohtani was moved into the leadoff spot as Mookie Betts was given a rare day off. Ohtani went 0-for-4.

Reds right-hander Graham Ashcraft (3-3) gave up just three hits but also allowed three walks as the Dodgers cashed in for three runs off the Cincinnati starter.

Jake Fraley had a triple, but the Reds finished with just three hits while falling to 3-9 on a 10-game, three-city road trip.

The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, getting an RBI single from rookie Andy Pages and a run-scoring groundout from Gavin Lux. Freeman delivered his RBI on a single in the fifth inning for a 3-0 lead.

Buehler was forced to escape a jam in the top of the fifth when Dodgers outfielders Miguel Vargas and Pages nearly collided in left-center on a line drive from Fraley. The ball deflected off Vargas' glove for a one-out triple, but Buehler got Jeimer Candelario on a pop up and Jonathan India on a groundout to end the threat.

Buehler ended his outing with strikeouts on Elly De La Cruz and Mike Ford in the sixth.

Michael Grove pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the Dodgers, Daniel Hudson pitched a perfect eighth and J.P Feyereisen finished off his second save after Teoscar Hernandez delivered an RBI single.

Fraley was the only member of the Reds to advance past first base.