LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scooter Gennett went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs, Tyler Mahle and three relievers combined on a four-hitter, and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.
Mahle outdueled Walker Buehler in a matchup of 23-year-old right-handers. Mahle fanned two, giving him 44 strikeouts in eight starts this season, which leads the majors among pitchers his age or younger.
Mahle (3-4) allowed one run and three hits in five innings and walked four. Dylan Floro and Wandy Peralta followed with one hit over 2 2/3 innings before Raisel Iglesias struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save.
Buehler retired 15 of his first 17 batters before the Reds got to him in the sixth.
Gennett doubled in the tying and go-ahead runs with two outs in the sixth inning, giving the Reds a 2-1 lead.
Billy Hamilton added a run in the seventh on a two-out triple in the right-field corner that scored Tucker Barnhart, who hit a leadoff double. Hamilton was 2 for 4.
Gennett homered on the first pitch from Daniel Hudson in the eighth, extending the Reds’ lead to 4-1.
The last-place Reds ended their futility against the Dodgers. They had lost eight in a row overall and nine straight in Los Angeles.
Joey Votto went 2 for 4 with a run scored after defensive miscues in the first two innings. He was charged with an error in the first when he couldn’t pick up Yasmani Grandal’s grounder and flipped to first base too late. Votto fielded a sacrifice bunt by Buehler in the second but his throw to second base sailed past Gennett and the runner was safe.
Buehler (2-1) gave up two runs and five hits in six innings. He tied a career high with eight strikeouts and walked none. He was a key contributor to the Dodgers’ combined no-hitter against the Padres in Mexico last week.
The Dodgers’ lone run came on Chase Utley’s RBI single with two outs in the first.
Los Angeles fell to 8-10 at home, a record that manager Dave Roberts called “inexcusable” before the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: Michael Lorenzen (right shoulder strain) threw 20 pitches in an extended spring training game in Goodyear, Arizona. … Anthony DeSclafani (left oblique strain) is expected to pitch Monday in Goodyear after throwing 39 pitches in an extended spring game and finishing with a nine-pitch bullpen on Wednesday.
Dodgers: No date has been set for Clayton Kershaw (left biceps tendinitis) to play catch again after he did so Wednesday under supervision of the medical staff. … 3B Justin Turner (broken left wrist) took up to 10 at-bats in a simulated game and will begin a rehab assignment this weekend at either Triple-A Oklahoma City or Class A Rancho Cucamonga. … 2B Logan Forsythe (right shoulder inflammation) was to be evaluated Thursday before going to either OKC or Rancho Cucamonga.
UP NEXT
Matt Harvey begins his post-Mets career when he debuts for the Reds in what is expected to be an abbreviated start. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts against LA, the last coming in 2015. Right-hander Kenta Maeda (2-2, 4.02 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers.
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