Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a 4-2 victory today over the Giants, the Dodgers have now started the second half with three wins in a row, have won seven in a row overall, and have won a comical 18 of their last 20 games.
They are … doing well.
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After allowing just a single in the 1st, Alex Wood then struck out five batters in a row and had two down in the 3rd. However, he ran into consecutive lightning strikes from Mookie Betts and Trea Turner going back-to-back with their 22nd and 15th homers, respectively.
The Dodgers couldn’t add against Wood in the 4th, getting a double and a walk but not cashing in. However, they did run up a ton of pitches against him, and after a walk to start the 5th, Wood’s day was over as he took 97 pitches to get 12 outs. The Giants pen then proceeded to get both homer hitters on groundouts, but then a walk and a HBP loaded the bases before another groundout to end the threat.
No matter, as the Dodgers struck in the 6th with two outs again, this time behind a Cody Bellinger single and then a Gavin Lux triple down the line in right for a 3-0 game.
The 7th didn’t provide any relief for the Giants, as Freddie Freeman smashed his 15th homer of the year to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and the lead to 4-0.
The Giants pen finally stopped the bleeding in the 8th with a clean frame, but the damage was done.
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Meanwhile, Julio Urias has continued to have a great year, especially when he avoids the homer. And he did that today in a dominant showing, giving up baserunners on just a double and a single to Austin Slater and an error that was erased by a double play through the 5th. In the 6th, he faced a jam due to two walks that brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but he dominantly dispatched of him on three pitches.
Urias lowers his ERA to 2.72 on the year and has got his second half off on the right foot: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 91 Pitches.
Out of the Dodgers pen was Caleb Ferguson for the 7th, who ran into two-out trouble with a walk and a single to corner the runners, but he got a routine fly out to end the threat. Evan Phillips was next out in the 8th and he looked dominant again with a strikeout, a foul pop, and a routine grounder for a clean frame.
To close things out, Dave Roberts gave the ball to Reyes Moronta with Craig Kimbrel down. He got a strikeout on a nasty change, then got a routine fly out to left, but then lost the zone and gave up back-to-back walks to put the Dodgers in trouble.
Dave then turned to David Price to get the final out, but he gave up a single to ruin the shutout and then another one of the bloop variety to drive in another to make it 4-2.
All of a sudden the go-ahead run was at the plate, but Price buckled down and got a strikeout to lock down the win.
Geez.
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The Dodgers improve to 63-30 on the year and remain 10.5 games ahead of the Padres in the NL West.
The sweep will be on the line tomorrow for an earlier game at 10:10 AM HT/1:10 PM PT/4:10 PM ET with Clayton Kershaw facing Alex Cobb.
