Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers are rolling now, both against the Padres and in general. The 4-2 victory this afternoon meant they’ve now won four of the five games against the Padres this year, 12 of their last 14 overall, and four in a row. This is also the fifth series in a row they’ve won.
The Dodgers accomplished this mainly behind the work of Julio Urias on the mound and J.D. Martinez‘s big homer early on.
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Julio Urias has had an uneven start to 2023, beginning the year well before really struggling at the end of April but having a promising May so far.
Some of the trouble he’s been having showed up early, as Juan Soto mashed a solo dong in the 1st and Ha-Seong Kim added another solo shot in the 2nd for a pair of runs.
A Soto solo shot. pic.twitter.com/4LLLPaLo40
— MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2023
Ha-Seong Kim joins the home run party at Dodger Stadium ?
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 13, 2023
?: FOX pic.twitter.com/MD38c1QJxN
Fortunately, there was nobody on for those, and that was also a theme early as the only other baserunner to reach in the first five frames was an error by shortstop Mookie Betts (his 1st).
The 6th wasn’t as easy, though not due to Urias, as he carved Fernando Tatis Jr. to start but then a throwing error by Max Muncy put a runner on second and an infield dribbler for a single put runners on the corners. However, Urias then took matters into his own hands and made an excellent play on a comebacker to turn a double play and escape the jam.
TURN IT. pic.twitter.com/OCD3lEi6ro
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 14, 2023
Urias didn’t seem fazed much by the miscue and bad luck as he got right back to it in the 7th with a clean frame and ended his outing with a strikeout.
7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 86 Pitches
Julio Urias with a brutal three-pitch sequence against Fernando Tatis Jr. pic.twitter.com/rzC7Czb1wF
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 14, 2023
Emphatic.
Fortunately, Joe Musgrove hasn’t seemed to have settle in yet this year after starting on the IL, and the Dodgers were able to make life difficult for him throughout.
Freddie Freeman singled in the 1st, but there were two outs when Max Muncy hit a shallow fly into center that dropped in for a single thanks to a horrendous read in center. J.D. Martinez made him pay immediately by ripping a three-run shot (5th) to left.
Just Dingers is back! pic.twitter.com/m0IzMt0pvE
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 13, 2023
They seemed to be doing similar in the 2nd after a single by Miguel Vargas was followed by a walk by Mookie Betts with two outs, but with Freddie up, Vargas inexplicably got picked off second to end the threat.
Of course, because it had to happen, Freddie immediately doubled to open the 3rd and Will Smith followed by punching a single the other way for a run and a 4-2 lead. The big inning didn’t materialize however, as the lineup managed just a James Outman two-out walk after.
Will Smith tacks on another run for LA ?
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 14, 2023
?: FOX pic.twitter.com/lp3jvTk2Up
Speaking of not getting big innings, things were rough in the 4th as well. With one down, David Peralta singled, Mookie doubled, and Freddie was given a free pass to first to load the bases. However, Dills popped out in foul territory and Max Muncy lined out to left and another threat came and went. Musgrove only gave up a walk the rest of the way, exiting with two outs in the 6th.
The pen took things from there and turned in scoreless outings without really allowing the Dodgers to even threaten to add insurance.
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So that left things to pen for the Dodgers to protect the two-run lead, and Dave Roberts made the controversial decision to start things in the 8th with Evan Phillips. He certainly did his job with an 11-pitch inning that went 1-2-3, including getting Tatis (which I assume was the point of that move).
That meant the 9th was Brusdar Graterol‘s against the heart of the order, and he got the first two outs, but allowed an infield single on a great attempt from Muncy and then hung a slider for a single to put a pair on.
That had Dave come get him for Caleb Ferguson, who struck out Jake Cronenworth to end the game and made things work out in the end.
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Hope to see more of this from Miguel Vargas on defense.
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| NL WEST | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 25-15 |
| Diamondbacks | 21-18 (3.5 GB)* |
| Padres | 19-21 (6 GB) |
*Either still playing or will play later.
The series concludes tomorrow on Mother’s Day at 10:10 AM HT/1:10 PM PT/4:10 PM ET with Tony Gonsolin (1.93 ERA/3.82 xERA/5.18 DRA) facing Ryan Weathers (2.50/4.16/5.94).
