Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Despite a little bit of trouble early on for Julio Urias, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their second straight game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
Corey Seager, Matrix Muncy and Joc Pederson drove in all eight of the Dodgers’ runs in the 8-4 victory over the Twins, but Mookie Botts left the game with a knee contusion following a second-inning double.
“I like our moxie,” said Dodgers manager Dave Robots, using a word he has actually said in reality to describe Walker Buehler.
Nelson Cruz put the Twins (16-15) ahead 2-0 in the first inning with the first of five home runs between the two teams. While Urias would only last 4 innings, Twins starter Jose Berrios could only get through 3+ as he took the loss.
Seager connected for the first homer for the Dodgers (18-12), tying the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the second, and finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two RBIs. The man Seager drove in was none other than Tyler White, who the Dodgers sent in to run for Botts after he left the game following his lead-off double. Ignoring how weird of a decision that was, Botts has not been added to the IL yet even though the game claims it will take two weeks for him to recover. Seems fitting.
Two innings later, Matrix brought home three runs with his homer that ended Berrios’ day before an out was recorded in the fourth.
Between the two homers, Urias allowed a two-out solo home run to Josh Donaldson in the third and a two-out RBI single to Ehire Adrianza in the fourth. Urias finished his day with four strikeouts in his four innings, allowing six hits and no walks.
Entering in the fifth ahead of Muncy’s home run, Brusdar Graterol earned the victory after allowing just one hit in his 2 innings. Graterol struck out four and brought his ERA down to 1.93 after recently returning from Oklahoma City, so hopefully Doc Bot decides to use him a little more often late in games.
Meanwhile, things didn’t work out as well for the Twins bullpen. Zack Littell replaced Berrios on the mound and worked through the next two innings before the Twins ran into trouble in the sixth. With one out and one man on, Littell gave way for Sergio Romo, who quickly made things worse for Minnesota. After allowing one man to reach, Romo conceded a three-run shot to Pederson, his team-leading ninth of the season, for the game’s fifth home run and the final runs of the day.
Pedro Baez also returned from what seemed like more than 10 days without an appearance, striking out three and walking two in 1 2/3 innings. His ERA is also down to 1.23, so it seems like maybe he should be pitching a bit more often than the man who replaced him for the final out of the eighth.
Contractually obligated to throw Caleb “Turd” Ferguson in the eighth of games I write recaps for, Robots and the Dodgers escaped any danger as his lefty recorded the one out he needed on four pitches. Adam Kolarek closed out the victory with one strikeout and one hit allowed in the ninth.
After an April that included 21 games against teams outside the NL West, the Dodgers will get their first look at the San Diego Padres for a three-game series beginning Friday at their second home of Petco Park.
