Wrobleski’s velo ticks up in 7-inning gem with career-high 9 K’s

Justin Wrobleski’s velocity climbed as his swing-and-miss returned, helping him deliver a seven-inning effort with nine strikeouts—his career high—as the Dodgers beat the Phillies 4-2 at Dodger Stadium. The win extended Los Angeles’ season-high streak of six s

LOS ANGELES — The moment told the story before the scoreboard did.

Justin Wrobleski watched Kyle Schwarber take a fastball toward the bottom of the zone, then stared at Schwarber’s face just long enough to see what he needed. When the ball carried to center field and cleared the fence, Wrobleski’s instincts were confirmed: the swing had been right.

“It’s how I know if the hitter got it or not. You kind of look at their reaction, and I knew he got it,” Wrobleski said. “I’ve seen that 1,000 times. I grew up a Cubs fan, so I’ve seen him do that a lot.”

The home run ended Wrobleski’s no-hit bid with two outs in the sixth inning. and it left him “a little frustrated” that the one hit arrived when his start was at its sharpest. Still, the Dodgers didn’t lose their grip on the night. Wrobleski’s velocity ticked up through seven innings. and Los Angeles beat Philadelphia 4-2 at Dodger Stadium. extending the team’s season-high run of six straight wins.

He was the reason. Wrobleski outdueled Zack Wheeler, who surrendered four solo homers across six innings in the series opener. This time, the Phillies walked into a pitcher who was finding more of his swing-and-miss than he had in recent weeks.

Manager Dave Roberts summed up what changed: “Wheeler’s one of the game’s best, doesn’t give up a lot of home runs. But tonight we had four really good swings and had a great pitching performance by Wrobo, and that’s all we needed.”

For much of the season, Wrobleski had been building trust in his command and his ability to work balls in play. When he began this rotation stretch, he looked like a stabilizer—going 5-0 and allowing two earned runs through 32 innings across his first five starts.

But before Friday, the rhythm had been interrupted. In his previous three starts, Wrobleski gave up 14 earned runs in 19 2/3 innings, with half of those coming in one bizarre outing in which he came one out away from going the distance.

On Friday, he returned to the part of his game he’d been missing. He reached career highs with nine strikeouts and 16 whiffs. The swing-and-miss wasn’t just a stat—Roberts described it as the separator.

“When you can get the swing-and-miss in the zone, that’s kind of a separator for any pitcher,” Roberts said.

The velocity shift was visible early. From the start, Wrobleski struck out the side in the first inning, and all three strikeouts—plus the six that followed later—came on his fastball. The fastball averaged 94.9 mph, up from his season average of 93.7.

Through five innings, he didn’t allow a hit. What kept the effort from perfection wasn’t a mistake that landed for extra bases—it was a play that nearly broke the other way. In the middle of the run. Trea Turner hit a fly ball that dropped between center fielder Andy Pages and right fielder Kyle Tucker. glancing off Tucker’s glove just in front of the warning track. The play was ruled an error on Tucker.

Then came the sixth inning swing that mattered. Wrobleski reached two outs before Schwarber struck again—his Major League-leading 22nd home run. Across seven innings, Wrobleski allowed just one hit and two baserunners.

Even the Phillies’ frustration had a familiar shape. Their offense struggled to get ahead in counts.

“We just really didn’t get on the fastball tonight, as much as anything,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “He threw a lot of fastballs, and we just got behind in the count a lot, and he stayed on the attack. We didn’t really do a lot with him, obviously.”

The Dodgers weren’t just keeping the ball in the zone. They were benefiting from something the Phillies have dealt with all year: difficulty against left-handed pitching. Philadelphia entered the game ranking 28th in the Majors with a .208 average against southpaws.

Wrobleski said he felt something click late in his start in Milwaukee on May 22, when he gave up five runs across five innings. Toward the end of that outing, he felt more in sync mechanically, and the velocity followed.

He noted that nine of the 10 hardest pitches he’s thrown this season have come against the Brewers and Phillies.

He didn’t pretend it was only about speed. Wrobleski’s earlier run of dominance had shown he didn’t necessarily need his best velocity to succeed. But now that it’s come back, he believes the package is more complete.

“It’s a lot more fun, I’ll tell you that much,” Wrobleski said. “But obviously, like I’ve said before, any way you can get outs in the Major Leagues, I think you’re going to take them.”

In the seventh inning, the frustration of the home run gave way to the bigger truth of the night: the Dodgers didn’t just keep winning. They did it with a starter whose fastball was finally behaving the way his best starts always have—quick, precise, and hard to touch.

Justin Wrobleski Dodgers Phillies Zack Wheeler Dodger Stadium Major League-leading home runs Kyle Schwarber Trea Turner Andy Pages Kyle Tucker nine strikeouts