Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers got their road trip off to an ideal start against the Rockies, exploding early for 11 runs and then coasting to the finish line behind Tyler Anderson in a 13-0 shutout victory.
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Jose Urena pitched well against the Dodgers last time he saw them but today … not so much. Things started in the 1st and weren’t all his fault, as a one-out single from Trea Turner and walk from Freddie Freeman started a rally, but they scored on a double steal and error, getting another on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
The 2nd, though? The 2nd was mostly his fault. Max Muncy singled, Cody Bellinger walked, and Zach McKinstry reached on an error to load the bases. After Urena got lucky on a lineout, he proceeded to surrender a TT double to clear the bases, walked FF, and then gave up a double to Will Smith to score Trea and make it 6-0.
It seemed like perhaps Urena would settle in after a 1-2-3 frame in the 3rd, but the 4th was honestly worse. Back-to-back singles from Mookie Betts and Trea started it, and the bases were loaded on another error, this time from Urena himself. A Will single plated two runs to make it 8-0 and knock Urena out.
Relivers didn’t provide any relief for the Rockies, as a Gavin Lux single drove in another run and Cody doubled later to drive in two more to make it 11-0.
For a bit it looked like the bats packed it in, both figuratively and literally since Trea was removed. But a McKinstry walk and a Mookie single was later cashed in by a Freeman double to make it 13-0 before Freddie was removed from the game.
That was it for the Dodgers despite the fact that catcher Brian Serven pitched the 9th and issued just a walk that was erased by a Mookie double play and got Trayce Thompson to fly out.
Rockies win, unfortunately.
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As all of this was going on, Anderson was cruising against his old team, who gave him trouble last time he faced them. The only time he faced a runner in scoring position was the 4th when he gave up a lead-off double and an infield single, but outside of that inning did not face a runner in scoring position.
Amusingly it looked like he might’ve been done with one out in the 6th after a single and a strikeout, but he convinced Dave Roberts to let him stay in and confused reliever Jake Reed in the process.
Anderson rewarded Dave by throwing just one more pitch, a groundball double play to end his seven shutout outing: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB (1 HBP), 4 K, 94 Pitches.
Reed was first out of the pen and got off to a rough start with a walk and single, but managed to escape by retiring the next three batters.
That brought in Hanser Alberto to pitch, responding to a position player with one of their own. He allowed two singles but ultimately got a scoreless inning and kept the shutout intact.
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New shirt!
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66-32 on the year with a 12-game lead in the NL West over the idle Padres.
The two teams will do it same time tomorrow at 2:40 PM HT/5:40 PM PT/8:40 PM ET with Julio Urias facing Chad Kuhl.
