The Los Angeles Dodgers came away with a close one against the Philadelphia Phillies.
On a rainy night at Citizens Bank Park, the Los Angeles Dodgers bounced back from their series-opening loss on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies with a tight 2-1 win on Tuesday.
"That was playoff environment," Dave Roberts said to the media in the postgame via SportsNetLA. "You can tell how bad we wanted it, how bad they wanted it. You got two heavyweight teams going toe-to-toe, and we didn't give anything away."
Justin Wrobleski, who toed the rubber in his first game back in Philadelphia since he punched out five in the All-Star Game, picked up right where he left off from his first-half performance.
"The Shark" tossed 6.1 quality innings and gave up just one earned run with seven punch outs on 89 pitches.
His success against the Phillies this season dates back to his 10th start, in which he struck out nine in seven innings of one-run ball at Dodger Stadium. That outing jump-started Wrobleski's hot month of June, where he recorded a 2.62 ERA across 30.2 innings pitched.
Heading into the second half, regarding Wrobleski's workload, Roberts told the media via SportsNetLA in the pregame that he would be mindful of it moving forward.
"We're still looking out to play through October, so gotta be mindful of the workload," Roberts said.
This season alone, Wrobleski is already at a career high in innings pitched through the majors or minors (106.2 innings pitched).
Jul 21, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski (70) sets on the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. -- © Kyle Ross-Imagn Images“I think my body is ready to handle this kind of workload. But at the same time, I feel good. It’s just another thing where you gotta listen to your body," Wrobleski said to the media via SportsNetLA.
Offensively, the Dodgers didn't need much to get one past the Phillies.
Max Muncy provided the lone source of offense with a two-run home run to straight-away center field that landed 421 feet into the trees. With that home run, Muncy has tied Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey for the second-most long balls in "Los Angeles" Dodgers history with 228.
After Tanner Scott recorded the final two outs of the eighth inning, Roberts decided to stick with the southpaw to go out for a five-out save.
Jul 21, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford (2) is caught in a rundown against Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing (68) in the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. -- © Kyle Ross-Imagn Images The Phillies were within striking distance with an Alec Bohm single and a J.T. Realmuto double, but after Brandon Marsh hit a dribbler to Muncy at third, questionable base running by the Phillies all around equated to a game-ending 5-2-6-4 double play.
"It's just fundmentals," Roberts said on the doozy that occured to end then game.
With the win, the Dodgers retake the top spot from the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in MLB (64-38).
The Dodgers have Eric Lauer taking the mound for the Wednesday rubber match, while the Phillies will send out righty Aaron Nola.
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