Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The final series of the long 162-game season started tonight and I suppose it only makes sense that it came against the rival Giants as the MLB usually schedules.
The Dodgers were really just trying to stay healthy and keep hot for the playoffs, and they did one of the two in a 9-2 win.
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Starting with things that actually matter, A.J. Pollock had to exit the game after getting hit on the kneecap by a Sam Selman slider.
For now it seems like just a bruise.
It looked precautionary, but it’s the glass man, so who knows?
Anyway, the Dodgers bats lit Johnny Cueto‘s tits tonight in a five-run 2nd frame. They started with back-to-back dongs from Cody Bellinger (47th) and Corey Seager (19th) to start the scoring.
After a Will Smith walk, Gavin Lux followed by immediately ripping a triple down the line in right to make it 3-0.
Later in the frame, the red-hot Joc Pederson stepped up and drilled a ball to right-center that eventually splashed into the cove for his 36th dinger.
On the other side of things, Walker Buehler wasn’t sharp, walking four batters in five innings. However, he allowed just two runs on five hits and struck out eight.
Dylan Floro, Caleb Ferguson, and Yimi Garcia got one out each in a scoreless 6th, while Casey Sadler got a scoreless 7th all by himself.
The bats then blew the game open with a four-run 8th. Chris Taylor doubled, Bellinger was intentionally walked, and Seager reached on an infield single to load the bases. Smith took advantage with a single that scored two, and Enrique Hernandez did the same with another single that plated a pair to make it 9-2.
Tony Gonsolin then had another pen outing, this time in the 8th. He issued two walks and hit a batter, struggling quite a bit, to the point where Dave Roberts tried to replace him with Adam Kolarek but was not allowed to. Apparently due to mound visits?
Either way, it worked out fine as Gonsolin got a fly out to end it.
Josh Sborz then got the 9th to close out a cold-ass game. While he gave up a single to start, he struck out the next three batters to mercifully end the game.
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