After his first four starts this season, Kenta Maeda appeared to be in danger of losing his spot in the rotation. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with the right-hander following a rough outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, offering instruction and words of encouragement.
Maeda has since bounced back with three impressive starts, the latest of which came Wednesday night. He went a career-long 8.1 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and entered the ninth pitching a shutout.
A leadoff single in the ninth inning was followed by a two-run homer. Maeda struck out Andrew McCutchen, then gave way to Grant Dayton.