Dodgers edge Mariners 3-2 as bullpen-heavy opener for postseason prep

The Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Friday night at T-Mobile Park, with Kiké Hernández providing a two-run homer in the third inning and Tanner Scott closing out a tense ninth for the save. The game marked the start of a three-game series between the two division winners and featured several bullpen-heavy decisions from Los Angeles as it shifts focus toward the postseason.

Hernández lined a 31-mile-an-hour pitch from Mariners starter George Kirby over the left-field wall in the third to put the Dodgers ahead 2-1. Dalton Rushing added an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth, giving Los Angeles a 3-1 lead. Seattle narrowed the margin in the eighth on a Dominic Canzone RBI single, setting up a dramatic ninth in which Scott surrendered a two-out double to Cal Raleigh, intentionally walked Julio Rodríguez and hit Mitch Garver to load the bases before striking out Eugenio Suárez to end the game.

The pitching matchup reflected both clubs' postseason gearing. Emmet Sheehan started for the Dodgers and left after one inning as part of a planned shift to a bullpen role; Justin Wrobleski, working the second of seven Los Angeles relievers, earned the win after...