Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Getting blown out yesterday put the Dodgers in danger of losing a series and also made them losers of three of their last four, but they bounced back tonight with a decisive 6-2 victory over the Cardinals to (hopefully) get back on track a bit.
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Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery was red hot after coming over from the Yankees in a trade, but has had a rougher time his previous two times out and the Dodgers didn’t make it any easier on him tonight.
The fireworks started early in the 1st when Will Smith drilled a solo shot for the lead.
Things only escalated in the 2nd when Trayce Thompson continued to hit the ball very hard for a solo shot of his own, and after an Austin Barnes single, Miguel Vargas smashed his first MLB homer for a 4-0 lead. He tried to suppress his emotion but couldn’t quite get through it.
Montgomery did get one scoreless inning in the 3rd by stranding a Dills triple, but had no such luck in the 4th after a lead-off walk to Thompson was eventually cashed in with two-out hits from Cody Bellinger (double) and Mookie Betts (single) to push things to 6-0.
The Cardinals actually didn’t have a 1-2-3 frame all game long, but they also didn’t give up a run after this.
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Since coming back from the IL, Clayton Kershaw has allowed just four runs in 24 innings, resuming his dominating season. For the most part that trend continued today.
After giving up two-out singles in back-to-back innings, he then had to work around a lead-off double in the 3rd but managed to do that without drama. He also allowed a single in the 4th but erased that with a double play and faced the minimum, then continued the no clean inning streak in the 5th with a two-out walk.
The 6th was when the damage finally arrived as a lead-off single was cashed in thanks to a two-run homer by Nolan Arenado. An infield single and hilarious error then followed, but Kershaw managed to work around it to complete his night.
Not exactly his best outing by Kershaw standards, but more than enough: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 88 Pitches.
In relief was what might be something like the playoff sequence out of the pen, with Chris Martin getting a perfect 7th that included two strikeouts and Evan Phillips following in the 8th, allowing a walk but facing the minimum thanks to a double play.
The 9th? Well, this time it was Tommy Kahnle, who cruised through a perfect frame on just seven pitches. Well now.
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Fan wants you to suck it.
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The Dodgers improve to 105-47 on the year.
| TEAM | CHASE | GAMES |
|---|---|---|
| Astros | MLB | 5.5 Up |
| Mets | NL | 9.5 Up |
| Clinched | NL West | Doesn’t Matter |
The rubber match of the series will be tomorrow in an early game at 10:10 AM HT/1:10 PM PT/4:10 PM ET. Michael Grove will face Adam Wainwright, who could almost be his dad.
