Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After recovering to split a four-game series against the Braves, the Dodgers have seemingly started another winning streak after prevailing 6-4 tonight over the Twins for their third victory in a row.
Most importantly, the Dodgers now have 69 wins. They also have a .690 winning percentage. It’s … nice.
https://twitter.com/ChadMoriyama/status/889645624093626368
Hyun-Jin Ryu came off the disabled list as a much-needed addition to the rotation at this stage in the season, and he did what he needed to do for the Dodgers. Ryu got through five innings, cruising through the first three even. However, with two outs in the fourth, he gave up a walk and a double back-to-back to plate one run. Then after another walk, Ryu surrendered another double to plate another run, but luckily the potential third run was gunned down at the plate thanks to a relay from Chris Taylor to Corey Seager to Yasmani Grandal. After barely escaping the fifth, his night was done as he was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the frame.
All told, Ryu struck out five and allowed just the two runs on five hits, but he did seem to be tiring in the fourth and fifth innings when he lost his command and gave up all three of the walks he did on the night. Most importantly, though, he looked like a healthy back-end rotation option.
——
The Dodgers were down two runs going into the fifth because all they could muster against Bartolo Colon through four were three singles, and two of them were of the bloop variety. Thankfully then, this offense has a penchant from coming out of nowhere, and they did just that with back-to-back homers from Grandal and Joc Pederson.
Later, Yasiel Puig tripled, which was eventually followed by a Taylor single to plate a run and net the Dodgers a lead.
That didn’t last for long, as Grant Dayton continued to struggle in 2017, as he surrendered a game-tying homer in the sixth. He then gave up a bunt single and a ringing double to put runners on second and third with one out, at which point Dayton was removed for Josh Fields. While Fields walked the first man he faced to load the bases, he rebounded to notch a strikeout and got out of it after inducing a fly ball that Puig managed to track down.
Fields stayed in for the seventh and he ended up coughing up the lead, through only partially through his own fault. After hitting a batter earlier in the inning, he seemingly allowed a two-out single to left to put runners on first and second … except Taylor played it into what was ruled a “double” somehow.
That boner scored a run and surrendered the lead to the Twins late in the game.
Edward Paredes then made his MLB debut in the eighth at age 30 after 12 seasons toiling in the minors, which is something I always love to see. All he did in his debut was face three lefties in a row and he ended up getting a 1-2-3 inning.
That proved big, as the bats finally got to the Twins pen in the eighth. CT3 started things with a single, and later Justin Turner stroked a one-out single to put runners on the corners. After swinging and missing at a slider in the dirt on the first pitch, then just missing another slider on the second pitch, Cody Bellinger stayed with a third consecutive slider and poked a three-run dong to center for the lead.
Unreal.
https://twitter.com/ChadMoriyama/status/889711852732555265
That brought in Kenley Jansen for the ninth, fresh off his first blown save of the season. While he did issue an odd four-pitch walk, he shut the door on the game with relative ease to secure the win.
Whose win?
Edward Paredes in his MLB debut.
——
Winning tonight gets the Dodgers to 69-31 on the year, improving them to 42-13 at Dodger Stadium. The Diamondbacks won and the Rockies loss, so they’re both tied for second in the NL West at 11.5 games behind the Dodgers. In the race for HFA throughout the playoffs, the Dodgers lead is still at 2.5 games after the Astros won today.
The Dodgers will aim to take the series against the Twins tomorrow at 4:10 PM HST/7:10 PM PST/10:10 PM EST. Kenta Maeda (4.23 ERA/4.06 FIP/4.48 DRA) will take the mound looking to continue to keep the Dodgers in games, but he’ll face off against the best the Twins have in Jose Berrios (3.50 ERA/3.94 FIP/3.74 DRA).
