Justin Wrobleski did the maximum by facing nearly the minimum

Los Angeles, CA - April 13:Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski (70) pitched through 8 innings against the Mets at Dodger Stadium on Monday, April 13, 2026. The LA Dodgers defeated the NY Mets 4-0 in first of a 3 game series. (Photo by David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images

Justin Wrobleski had the best start of the Dodgers season to date and the best outing of his career in Monday night’s win over the New York Mets.

Wrobleski was so efficient in his eight scoreless innings that some of the talk afterwards was about why he didn’t get a chance to finish the game. After all, he was only at 90 pitches through eight innings, during which he allowed only two singles and nothing else.

“He certainly earned the opportunity to go back out for the ninth. He pitched a heck of a ballgame,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters Monday night at Dodger Stadium. “The decision was, he hasn’t more than five innings in a long time, so now you’re talking about the health of the player. There’s more to that than pitch counts.”

In his first two outings this season, Wrobleski pitched four innings in bulk relief on March 30 against the Cleveland Guardians, then pitched five innings in a start and win over the Toronto Blue Jays last week. He last pitched more than five innings last July 19, with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and his professional career high was seven innings, done on June 16, 2024 with Double-A Tulsa and again on May 10, 2025 with Oklahoma City.

The top three in the Dodgers rotation — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani — have pitched six innings in every start so far, and Emmet Sheehan pitched six in his last start as well. Yamamoto faced two batters in the seventh inning last week in Toronto but didn’t retire either one. No Dodgers starter had gotten an out beyond the sixth inning before Monday night, when Wrobleski completed eight innings.

Jorge Polanco broke up the perfect game bid with a single in the fifth inning, but was erased on a double play. Francisco Alvarez singled in the eighth inning, the only other Met to reach base against Wrobleski. None reached scoring position.

Wrobleski got an 80 game score for his effort, the best by a Dodgers starter this season, topping Shohei Ohtani’s 73 game score on March 31 against Cleveland, with six strikeouts over six scoreless innings.

With only two strikeouts, Wrobleski wasn’t dominant, but he was efficient, getting 10 outs on two or fewer pitches. He gave up some hard-hit balls but almost all were on the ground. Most notably, shortstop Miguel Rojas robbed Bo Bichette of a hit with a diving stab and throw up the middle in the second inning.

“Those guys are very, very aggressive. If they’re going to put the ball in play, there’s only so much a pitcher can do outside of trying to get behind and make them chase out of the strike zone,” Roberts told reporters. “We want outs. He’ll get his strikeouts. With two strikeouts and no walks, I love the no walks. The two strikeouts isn’t a second thought. It was a great, great major league outing.”

Wrobleski faced only 25 batters to get through his eight innings, one over the minimum. He’s the first Dodgers starter to complete eight innings in 25 or fewer batters since Clayton Kershaw on July 15, 2022 in Anaheim, the second of his two flirtations with perfection that season.

Tanner Scott relieved Wrobleski and needed only eight pitches to finish the game, putting the Dodgers total at 98 pitches. It’s only the second MLB game this season with a team throwing fewer than 100 pitches. Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara needed only 93 pitches to shut out the Chicago White Sox on April 1. The previous time the Dodgers threw fewer than 100 pitches was September 12, 2021, when Max Scherzer threw 92 pitches in eight innings, followed by Justin Bruihl’s six-pitch ninth to finish off the San Diego Padres.