The light-bulb moment for Kenta Maeda occurred June 9, long before the Dodgers right-hander transformed himself from starter to relief revelation during the team's World Series run.
His rotation spot skipped because of an off-day that week, Maeda entered a Friday night game against Cincinnati in the sixth inning. It was his first relief appearance as a Dodger after making 32 starts in 2016 and 10 starts to open 2017.
Maeda retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the sixth and seventh innings, his fastball a tick or two higher than normal on the radar gun nd his slider sharp.