Nine runs. First inning. If you sat down late Saturday, you didn't miss the comeback — you missed the whole game. Kirk here. This is the Dodgers Daily Podcast — and today, we've got the bats and the medical staff both in the headlines, with the rotation news cutting in two directions. Joey with you, and I'm not gonna pretend I'm calm about it. Two straight nights, two completely different ways to win — we'll get into all of it. We'll take a victory lap, then we'll go find the one cloud, because there's a Glasnow announcement and a Snell update we need to be precise about. Let's start with that first inning. Nine in the first against the Angels — I genuinely thought my feed glitched. Forget the depth angle. That's just a beating. And the part I keep circling — Friday was a 1-0 Sasaki gem, Freeman walk-off. Saturday's a blowout. Back-to-back wins in totally different genres. Sasaki — seven shutout, ten punchouts, two hits. Best big-league start of his career, full stop. The kid answered the rotation question with an exclamation point. And Muncy's back in the lineup Saturday, busted nose and all. That concussion-protocol worry from earlier in the week? Done. That's where it landed. Okay, but here's my cloud — Tucker's out of the lineup. That's a real hole, and it puts the Ryan Ward Triple-A question back on the table with an actual hook this time. Fair. Though the lineup put up nine before anyone needed Tucker, so I'd hold off on calling it an emergency. Sure, sure — I'm just saying, ask me again in a week. Now hit me with this Glasnow announcement, because that's the one I've been waiting on all week. Heavy had the actual move ahead of the Angels game — and I want to read what the team said, not just react to the headline. So let's be careful: there's a decision here, but no firm return date attached. No date! That's the tension, man. Snell takes a big step forward after elbow surgery, per ClutchPoints, Glasnow's still a question mark — that's a messy injury board. Right — that Snell update is from June 6, and it's the 'big step forward' one. That's a real update after days of nothing. The six-man rotation debate suddenly has more moving parts, not fewer. And if Snell's coming while they're already dropping nine in the first? That's a problem for the rest of the AL West, not for us. I'll let you spike the football. I just remember the McCourt years well enough to enjoy a nine-run inning without pricing in October yet. Let me have this one, Kirk. Two walk-offs, a blowout, Sasaki dealing — I earned the noise. From MLB:
LOS ANGELES -- If you tuned into the game just 15 minutes late on Saturday, you probably thought your screen was glitching. A 9-1 scoreline is the kind of lopsided margin that usually takes a full night of offense to build -- but the Dodgers delivered that exact cushion in the bottom of the first inning alone.
Nine runs in the first! If you got up to grab a beer, you missed the whole thing. Ohtani legs out an infield single, and then the inning just never stops. And the Angels actually led. Peraza triples in the top half, then by the time L.A. picks up a glove, it's 9-1. Highest first inning anywhere in baseball since the Pirates did it at Coors last August. Biggest first frame since they hung eleven on the Cardinals back in 2021. And it's the Angels. Couldn't script it better. Andy Pages sat on an 89.6 mph changeup and made Jack pay. That's the at-bat that broke it open before most fans had found their seats. Here's SportsGrid:
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night, Freeman launched a walk-off home run off former Dodgers reliever Kirby Yates, lifting the Dodgers to a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Angels and improving the Dodgers to 41-23 on the season.
Two hits all night off Reid Detmers — a guy carrying a 4.63 ERA — and then Freeman looks up, sits on a fastball from Kirby Yates, and ends it. 1-0. Dodgers are 41-23. And that's against the same Yates who wore Dodger blue! Freeman told you the plan — look up, don't chase the splitter — and then he just did it. That's filthy. And this is the part that sticks — a 1-0 pitcher's duel one night, then a nine-run first inning the next. Sasaki goes seven, gives up two hits, punches out ten in between. Two completely different ways to win. Sasaki's best big-league start, the same weekend Snell's reportedly taking a big step forward post-surgery. The rest of that division should be sweating, honestly. ClutchPoints, with Joey Mistretta:
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell previously underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. Snell could potentially return in July, although his official timeline is not official. On Friday, Snell played catch for the first time since having the surgery, according to David Vassegh.
Snell played catch Friday — first time since they cleaned the loose bodies out of that elbow. Early June, and the July timeline suddenly looks real. Let's be precise, though — playing catch is a step, not a date. Vassegh's report says no official timeline, and the Dodgers say they'll proceed with extreme caution. Sure, caution. Meanwhile, they're hanging nine-run first innings on the Angels WITHOUT him. If Snell's throwing again, that's bad news for everybody else out west. The goal is October, not July. They already know they're playing in the postseason — anything before that is a bonus, not a deadline. Here's Noah Camras at Sports Illustrated:
Muncy returns to the lineup just two days after being involved in a scary collision at first base that forced him from the game. Kyle Tucker is out of the lineup, with Alex Call starting in right field.
Sasaki — seven scoreless, ten punchouts, two hits, then Freeman walks it off in the ninth. That was the best start of his career, and we won 1-0 in a duel. Saturday? Different animal entirely. And the lineup card tells you why nobody should be panicking — Muncy's back at third. Remember the collision worry two days ago? Concussion protocol, busted nose, the whole thing. Two days later, he's hitting fifth like nothing happened. Kochanowicz on the mound for the Angels — 5.23 ERA, and last time he saw the Dodgers in May? Pages, Muncy, Hernández all went deep on him. Six runs. Welcome back, Jack. Tucker's out, though. That's the live hole in the lineup — and Yamamoto's been carrying a 0.93 across his last three. So do they fill the Tucker gap, or just ride Yamamoto? Michael McDermott, writing in Heavy.com:
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced a few moves ahead of their middle game against the Los Angeles Angels. Among them was right-hander Tyler Glasnow being transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Here's the actual decision, before anybody runs with the headline: Glasnow to the 60-day IL. The team still isn't giving you a timeline. He hasn't thrown since May 6, after back spasms pulled him mid-start against Houston. It's a roster move to clear a 40-man spot for Nick Frasso. Frasso's the news here as much as Glasnow. Sixty-day IL. So all that 'huge update' energy and it's the opposite of huge — he's gone till August, minimum. But here's the part that should terrify the West — they put up a nine-run first inning this weekend WITHOUT him. Glasnow's hurt and they didn't even flinch. Per Ardaya, he exercised the upward mobility clause, and that's what got Frasso the call. Small transaction, but it tells you the front office is trying to fill the rotation hole from inside, not panicking on the trade market. And while Glasnow's shut down, Snell's taking a big step forward post-surgery. The injury picture's lopsided in the best way — one arm starts moving while the other one rests. If Dodgers Daily is part of your routine, take a second to subscribe or leave a review wherever you're listening. It helps other fans find the show, and it means a lot to us.
Links to all of today's stories are in the show notes. If one of them caught your ear, you can dig in there.
That's the Dodgers Daily Podcast for this Sunday, June 7th. This is a Lantern Podcast.