Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Julio Urias struck out 13 batters in 7 innings on Saturday as the Los Angeles Dodgers (44-33) continued to dominate the truly horrendous Detroit Tigers (24-52).
Matrix Muncy and Corey Seager both finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs in the 5-1 victory as Urias, Richard Rodriguez and Caleb Ferguson combined for 18 strikeouts.
After Urias finished his day with 13, Rodriguez added three in the 8th before Ferguson sat down both the batters he faced via strikeout. Earning the save as two men were on base following Blake Treinen’s appearance, Ferguson’s ERA dropped below 4.00 so I’ll drop the Turd.
Anthony Alford really struggled in the lead off spot for the Tigers, striking out in all four of his plate appearances. Daz Cameron hardly fared better with three strikeouts in four plate appearances in the No. 2 spot. Isaac Paredes, Travis Demeritte, Andrew Susac, Niko Goodrum and Casey Mize all struck out twice as well as the lineup struggled to break through for the second straight day.
“I just tried to attack the bottom of the zone,” Urias said. Again, with no batter above even .265 in the lineup, I’d expect the numbers to look ridiculous for the Dodgers.
A walk and a single against Rodriguez in the 8th gave the Tigers their first run in 16 innings against the Dodgers thanks to another strong start by the rotation.
As for the Dodgers’ offense, Muncy connected on a solo shot in the 4th before driving home another with a single in the 5th. Between his two at-bats, Code Bellinger brought in one with a double and Seager added two more with his own double in the 7th.
Mize actually worked six innings in the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk. Bryan Garcia allowed two to reach in the 7th with Ethan DeCaster allowing both of his inherited runners to score on Seager’s double.
Clayton Kershaw will look for the sweep on Sunday as he faces Daniel Norris. Given his success this season, you’d expect it to go about as well as the last two days.
