Martinez, Miller lead Dodgers past Phillies 9-0 as Thomson ejected
Manager Rob Thomson argues with home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers warning was given to Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola for throwing too many balls away at Citizens Bank Park on June 10, 2023 in Philad ((Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images))
PHILADELPHIA - Rookie Bobby Miller won for the third time in four starts, J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Philadelphia 9-0 on Saturday after the ejection of Phillies manager Rob Thomson in a pitch clock flap.
David Peralta homered, doubled and drove in a run for the Dodgers, who won for just the second time in seven games. Mookie Betts added a pair of hits and two RBIs.
Miller (3-0) allowed three hits in six innings, struck out seven and walked three, lowering his ERA to 0.78.
"It’s definitely a little bit of a confidence builder," Miller said. "That’s a really good lineup, so I really had to lock in and focus in on getting all my pitches today."
The 24-year-old right-hander joined Kenta Maeda in 2016 as the only Dodgers pitchers since at least 1901 to pitch five or more innings and allowed one run or none in his first four appearances.
"His slider’s come a long way; he’s made a couple adjustments since he got here, and it’s been great," Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. "Changeup is also a great wipeout pitch. And the curveball, that’s how you slow guys down. He’s put guys away with it, he can land it for strikes. He just mixes all four."
Manager Dave Roberts has been impressed with his rookie hurler.
"When you play for this club, we’re not about development — we’ve got to win," Roberts said. "It doesn’t matter the age, the service time — if you’re going out there and performing, then you earn those opportunities."
Andre Jackson finished a six-hitter for his second save.
Defending NL champion Phillies (31-33) had won a season-high six in a row and were looking to get back to .500 for the first time since May 14.
Thomson was ejected in the sixth inning when plate umpire Roberto Ortiz wouldn’t reset the pitch clock after Aaron Nola (5-5) requested a new baseball.
The umpires felt Nola was stalling to circumvent baseball’s pitch clock rules that were imposed prior to this season. Under baseball’s new pace-of-play procedures, pitchers have 15 seconds to deliver a pitch with nobody on and 20 seconds if there is a baserunner.
"As the game went on, he started to throw more and more balls out where we felt he was trying to reset the clock, which is an attempt to circumvent the pitch clock regulations," third base umpire Bill Miller, the crew chief, told a pool reporter. "It’s up to the umpire’s judgment if any player, at any time, is attempting to circumvent the pitch clock regulations."
Nola was charged with six runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Los Angeles led 3-0 in the seventh, when broke open the game with six runs off Nola and Jeff Hoffman.
"I thought he was better than his line," Thomson said of Nola. "Just kind of fell apart. (Hoffman) couldn’t find the plate, so he was probably a little rusty."
Betts chased Nola with a one-out RBI single. Martinez drove a 95 mph fastball into the left-field seats for his 16th homer.
Nola retired the first eight Dodgers before James Outman’s two-out double in the third. Betts and Freddie Freeman hit RBI singles. Peralta homered with two outs in the fourth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: 3B Alec Bohm, out since May 31 with a left hamstring strain, felt good on Saturday and could be activated on Sunday, Thomson said.
UP NEXT
RHP Taijuan Walker (5-3, 5.04) starts for the Phillies in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. The Dodgers hadn’t announced their starter.