Is Justin Wrobleski’s early-season success this year really sustainable?
If he throws his fastball like he did Friday night, it might be impossible to stop.
In the Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night in the opening game of this weekend’s postseason rematch, Wrobleski turned in the most impressive performance yet of his breakout 2026 campaign.
He spun seven dominant innings, allowing just one run on one hit that didn’t come until the sixth. He struck out a career-high nine batters, twice punching out the side while also getting a career-best 16 whiffs overall.
And, most importantly, he found renewed life on a suddenly high-end fastball –– averaging a season-best 94.9 mph, topping out a sizzling 97 mph multiple times, and using the pitch for all nine of his Ks in a simply overpowering start.
“It’s just kind of felt like a little bit of a missing piece,” Wrobleski said. “It just honestly gives me more confidence to kind of go out there and attack even more.”
Indeed, previously this year, the 25-year-old southpaw had been pitching to contact and limiting damage. It had allowed him to be efficient, going six innings or more in all but two of his eight starts. But it also left him with one of the lowest strikeout rates in the majors this season, raising questions over whether his impressive numbers were only an early, and bound-to-regress, mirage.
But then came Friday, when –– in a marquee matchup, against a star-studded Phillies lineup, and with Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw sitting in the front row for measure –– Wrobleski took the mound and flashed a different version of himself.
He bullied hitters in the zone. He dared them to hit his almost untouchable stuff.
“He’s chewed up a lot of innings [earlier this season],” manager Dave Roberts said. “But when you can get the swing and miss in the zone, that’s kind of a separator for any pitcher.”
Wrobleski was so good on Friday, he easily outdueled three-time All-Star Zack Wheeler, who gave up four home runs for only the second time in his career against a Dodgers lineup steadily finding its collective swing.
Freddie Freeman opened the scoring by slapping an opposite-field solo shot in the first. Max Muncy tied Andy Pages for the team lead in home runs by mashing his 13th of the year in the second.
Shohei Ohtani kept up his recent tear by depositing another solo drive into the Phillies bullpen in the third. Even the slumping Will Smith got in on the action, making it 4-0 in the fifth before the Phillies lineup had even recorded its first hit.
“We just weren’t missing the few mistakes he was making,” Muncy said.
Wrobleski, on the other hand, hardly let the Phillies barrel anything up.
He averaged 96 mph with his fastball in the first inning, when he rung up Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper all in a row. From there, he didn’t allow a baserunner until the fourth, when Kyle Tucker dropped a fly ball amid miscommunication with Pages in right-center.
Unfazed, however, Wrobleski kept on attacking, escaping that threat unscathed en route to retiring seven more in a row –– five of which, once again, came via the strikeout.
“He was on the attack,” Roberts said. “It was just really good to see that performance.”
Only with two outs in the sixth did Wrobleski lose his no-hit bid, when Schwarber walloped his MLB-leading 22nd home run on a low fastball to straightaway center.
“I was pissed when I gave up that hit,” he said.
No matter. He shook it off.
Wrobleski sat down the next four he faced. He got a somewhat early hook after 88 pitches.
It was a surprise exit, but one that did little to dampen the dominance he discovered.
“When you can reach back for 97,” Roberts said, “it makes life a lot easier.”
What it means
The Dodgers (37-20) have won a season-high six games in a row, and are now 13-2 in their last 15 overall.
Of that entire recent stretch, this weekend’s series against the resurgent Phillies (29-28) had loomed as perhaps the trickiest test. Despite a dismal opening month, Philadelphia had gone 20-8 since a managerial change that put former Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly in charge.
Alas, just like in last year’s playoffs, the Dodgers reigned supreme again.
Who’s hot
It’s worth remembering: Before Friday, Wrobleski had the second-lowest rate of strikeouts-per-nine-innings (5.01) of all MLB pitchers with at least 50 innings this season.
Part of that was by design, with Wrobleski purposely trying to fill up the zone to induce soft contact and work quick outs. Part of it, however, had left the third-year pitcher frustrated, as his fastball dipped from 96 mph last year (when he largely pitched out of the bullpen) to 93.7 mph in his return to the rotation this season.
Last week, however, Wrobleski said something finally clicked.
Though he suffered a five-inning, five-run clunker against the Milwaukee Brewers, he finished that game by eclipsing 97 mph for the first time this year.
“I can’t tell you the exact thing,” he said. “I felt just kind of back to normal, and kind of carried into tonight.”
Did it ever.
With his fastball playing up, and his command in the zone executed with aggressive precision, Wrobleski simply overpowered the Phillies’ big-name offense. His fastball alone accounted for 13 swings and misses. He rung up a couple other batters by dotting called third strikes.
“I wouldn’t say it was something that bothered me,” Wrobleski said of his previous velocity dip. “It was just something that was out of the norm for me. Like, I was happy with getting a bunch of outs, but it was weird how the outs were coming. And like I said, like you’re always going to take outs. But yeah, you want a little more swing and miss … And, tonight kind of felt back to normal.”
Who’s not
Those who thought Wrobleski was primed for regression after he’d given up 14 runs in his previous three outings, which had raised his ERA from 1.25 to 3.07.
Those outings, of course, epitomized what could go wrong with Wrobleski’s throw-back style. Softly-hit balls found holes. Rare mistakes were driven out of the ballpark. And when he neeed to escape an inning, it required some help from his defense behind him.
Friday, however, flashed a different side of Wrobleski’s potential –– showcasing his ability to be a power arm when his heater is thrown even slightly harder.
“It just gives him way more margin,” Roberts said. “Early on in his first five, six starts, there were a lot of balls in play, obviously some soft contact, balls at guys. But obviously you’re bringing the fielders into play. Tonight, probably his best outing. When you can take out the fielders and get the swing and miss, the strikeouts like he did, really dominant performance against a really good ball club.”
Up next
The Dodgers and Phillies resume their marquee matchup on Saturday, when Roki Sasaki (3-3, 4.93) will face Philadelphia left-hander Jesús Luzardo (4-4, 4.38).
