Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The first-place Dodgers beat the last-place Rockies, 4-1, but it certainly wasn’t as easy as the standings would suggest it should’ve been, especially since ace Clayton Kershaw was going. The Giants also won again because the Reds are terrible, keeping the division lead at 7.5 games, but the magic number has gone down to 12.
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Kershaw gave up a run in the first inning today, and the entire game was a struggle by his standards. He consistently ran into trouble with command, and his pitch count was up to 84 through five innings, but he still managed to get through seven frames on 105 pitches. Kershaw also struggled by allowing a bunch of hard contact that fortunately found gloves … and yet, in the end, he allowed just three hits and two walks on the night, surrendering just the single run. Kershaw only struck out five though, so maybe Jon Heyman was right after all.
kershaw may be regressing faster than billingsley. not sure. close competition. #howcanbradpennybebetterthanboth?
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 5, 2010
The Dodgers offense did just enough, putting 12 baserunners on and bringing home four. After falling behind in the first, the Dodgers tied things up at 1-1 in the second inning on a Yasmani Grandal sac fly. They then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth behind a Justin Turner double down the line, which held as the score until the eighth.
Because the eighth is when the Oklahoma City Dodgers took over, with Scott Schebler hitting a towering two-run homer for a 4-1 lead. That homer drove in Corey Seager, who should basically be in the Hall Of Fame already, going 2-for-3 with a double and a hit-by-pitch today.
That was more than enough for a bullpen that was generally up to task with Luis Avilan, Juan Nicasio, and Chris Hatcher pitching the final two innings, striking out three and allowing just two singles.
This team is not bad.
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Grandal showed positive signs after coming off an elongated hitless streak, but more importantly, a sore shoulder.
Yasmani Grandal snaps his 0-for-36 with a hard-hit single to RF
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) September 15, 2015
He finished 2-for-3, but both the fly out to left and the sac fly to left were hit well, and seeing him drive the ball was a nice change.
Of course, the real story of the game went to this Red Sox fan, who apparently decided to try and take out his repressed anger on Adrian Gonzalez.
I don't see a catapult headed for the sun anywhere, but security is escorting the Red Sox fan out
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) September 15, 2015
