Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
A miracle has occurred as the Dodgers are above .500 and have won two games in a row for just the second time all season. Behind eternal ace Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy being a dinger machine, and Mookie Betts being ridiculous, the Dodgers sorta edged the Cubs by a 7-3 score.
======
For the second straight game, a Kershaw start began with a multi-base error, this time from Muncy whiffing on a grounder for two bases. Also for the second straight game, Kershaw struck out the side in the inning. However, between that he also gave up back-to-back singles to Cody Bellinger (who advanced to second on an ill-advised James Outman throw to the plate) and Seiya Suzuki to plate a pair of runs and give the Cubs an early 2-0 lead.
On the other end was Marcus Stroman, who worked a clean 1st and worked around a double in the 2nd. However, a rare Austin Barnes hit was immediately followed by Betts’ 3rd homer of the year to left that quickly tied the game at 2-2.
In the meantime Clayton had settled in, getting a six-pitch inning in the 2nd, working around a lead-off walk in the 3rd, and having a 1-2-3 frame in the 4th. However, he was greeted by a Yan Gomes homer to lead-off the 5th that put the Dodgers behind again, 3-2.
Back to Stroman, who notched scoreless frames in the 4th and 5th, but walked Freddie Freeman on four pitches to lead-off the 6th. That immediately became a fatal mistake for him, as Muncy was next and he stepped up to drill his league-leading 11th homer. Worse yet, J.D. Martinez followed him with a shot of his own, his 4th, to push the lead to 5-3 and knock Stroman out of the game.
Now suddenly pitching with the lead, Kershaw did what he needed to and cruised through a 1-2-3 inning in the 6th to maintain the scoreline.
Really, aside from the two unearned runs in the 1st, he was in control of this game the whole way: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 6 K, 90 Pitches.
Unfortunately, the Cubs pen was quite effective for the most part and kept the lead to just two runs from the 6th to 8th by allowing just a walk. Thankfully, Michael Fulmer entered in the 9th, and despite getting the first two outs, he then allowed a single to Miguel Vargas, walked Barnes, and then gave up a double to left to Mookie that plated two insurance runs and make it 7-3.
Meanwhile, the much-maligned Dodgers pen also put in some work. Justin Bruihl worked around a lead-off walk to post a scoreless frame in the 7th, and Brusdar Graterol took over in the 8th for one of his own, allowing just a fly ball “double” that clanged off David Peralta‘s glove in shallow left.
With Evan Phillips not with the team due to paternity leave, Graterol started the 9th as well, and things started ominously with a lined single and a catcher’s interference on Barnes. While he got a line out, a bloop single to right then loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate, but Brusdar rolled a pair on a grounder to Mookie for a 6-4-3 to end it.
——
All-Star shortstop, Mookie Betts.
Jason Heyward on patrol.
Gavin Lux doing well on Twitter at least.
======
Oh my god, they are above .500 now. 12-11!
After an off-day tomorrow, the Dodgers will be visiting Pittsburgh and the Pirates, with the series starting at 12:35 PM HT/3:35 PM PT/6:35 PM ET. Noah Syndergaard will match up against Johan Oviedo.
