Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After having their win streak halted last night, the Dodgers are looking to get another one started with a 7-4 win over the Braves, the only team that has beat them since like 4/20/69.
Most importantly, the Dodgers are now 41-7 in their last 48 games, two wins in a row away from besting the 2013 run.
I want it so bad, you guys.
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Alex Wood allowed just one run in his six innings, but in my opinion struggled more in this outing than his previous in which he allowed four runs in seven innings.
Things appeared to get off to a good start in the first with two quick outs, but after allowing a single, another hit followed to the slight left of center. Initially it seemed like it might’ve been another single, or maybe would’ve been stretched into a double, but Enrique Hernandez whiffed on cutting it off and it rolled to the wall for an RBI double.
The other eventful inning was the fifth, where Wood inexplicably started things with back-to-back walks, and then allowed a bloop single to left to load the bases with no outs. That was impressively dealt with, however, when Wood picked off a runner at second for one out and then immediately induced a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam with no damage.
The command and stuff waved throughout the night, and it was a surprisingly laborious 87 pitches through six, if that makes any sense. He surrendered seven hits and two walks, striking out just two Braves batters. While the weak contact continued to be a theme, he allowed too much of it.
The offense thankfully hit enough to make that performance stick.
In the third, the Dodgers were finally able to take advantage of Sean Newcomb‘s wildness, albeit not as much as they should’ve. They loaded the bases with nobody out on two singles and a walk, but only managed one run on a Logan Forsythe RBI walk.
Thankfully they managed to get more in the fourth after Yasiel Puig walk and a Chris Taylor two-run shot to straight-away center.
The offense managed to scrap together some insurance in the sixth when back-to-back singles by CT3 and Corey Seager (along with a wild pitch) put runners at the corners with one out. Justin Turner plated a run with a sacrifice fly for a three-run advantage.
That trend continued in the seventh, when the inning started with a Forsythe single, Austin Barnes getting hit, and then Enrique singling home a run. Puig followed that up by grounding into a double play, but hey, it scored a run to up the advantage to five.
As if that wasn’t enough, that ninth started with a Forsythe walk and then a Barnes lined double into the right-center gap to drive him in.
That extended the lead to six runs, and it proved more than enough for the rock solid bullpen.
Brandon Morrow relieved Wood in the seventh and got a 1-2-3 frame, including two strikeouts. It was … impressive.
https://twitter.com/ChadMoriyama/status/893295752952283136
Josh Fields got the eighth in similar fashion with two strikeouts, but didn’t get the 1-2-3 frame due to a single.
That left new acquisition Tony Cingrani to debut for the Dodgers in the ninth, which didn’t go so well. Two ground-ball singles were followed by a three-run homer to cut the six-run lead down to three. Fortunately, Cingrani rebounded quickly, striking the next batter out and then inducing a routine fly out before ending the game with another strikeout.
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76-32 is the overall record now, including 29-19 away from home. Due to the Diamondbacks winning, the lead in the NL West is still at 14 games. The Astros are still playing (but are losing), so the lead for best record in baseball is temporarily at 6.5 games.
The Dodgers travel to New York to start a series against the Mets tomorrow at 1:10 PM HST/4:10 PM PST/7:10 PM EST. The matchup is of the marquee playoff type, with Yu Darvish (4.01 ERA/3.96 FIP/3.06 DRA) making his Dodgers debut against Mets ace Jacob deGrom (3.29 ERA/3.57 FIP/2.91 DRA).
