When the Cleveland Guardians added Matthew Boyd to the starting rotation, the fans didn’t expect him to be this good.

Boyd shut down the fearsome bats of the Los Angeles Dodgers last night as the Guardians prevailed 3-1 at Dodger Stadium.

In six innings, Boyd gave up three hits and a run, with no walks and six strikeouts. He improved to 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA.

After Boyd’s stellar performance, Cleveland’s dominant bullpen preserved the victory.

Cade Smith (24th hold), Hunter Gaddis (30th hold), and Emmanuel Clase (42nd save) prevented a Dodger comeback.

THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

On offense, the Guardians won this game with the long ball, but not with the regular sluggers.

Andres Gimenez broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with a two-run homer that just cleared the 360-foot sign in right field off LA starter Landon Knack (2-3).

MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani got a run back for the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth with his 45th home run of the season.

Brayan Rocchio hit his second homer of the week to give the Guardians an insurance run in the eighth inning.

Tonight’s game will start an hour earlier at 9:10 Eastern. Gavin Williams (3-7) will start for Cleveland because Alex Cobb has a blister on his finger. Ryan Brasier (1-0) will start for the Dodgers.