Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a rough landing last night to start both this four-game series against the Cardinals and the 10-game road trip, there were a lot less fireworks in the sequel. Both sides struggled to score for a while until the Dodgers struck in the 5th, and it was neck-and-neck until the Dodgers put up a crooked number in the 8th for a 5-0 win.
The victory keeps their hopes of seven straight series wins alive.
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Despite Steven Matz‘s struggles this year, he’s still a lefty and thus was a tough matchup for the Dodgers. But it’s not like they struggled getting chances against him, the issue was taking advantage.
The Dodgers stranded a double and walk with one out in the 1st, a lead-off double and a one-out single that cornered the runners in the 2nd, a two-out double in the 3rd, and a single that was advanced into scoring position with two outs in the 4th.
The 5th seemed to be going much the same way, as after Mookie Betts reached on an error to start the frame, he advanced to second on a heads-up tag on a fly out, but a strikeout put any chance on the verge of failure. But a balk of Mookie to third and then a walk to J.D. Martinez kept things alive, and Chris Taylor came through by yanking a double down the line in left for a 1-0 lead.
That knocked Matz out of the game, and the rally ended there, but it was a lead at least.
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Meanwhile, for the Dodgers rotation, they were honestly just trying to get literally anything out of Tony Gonsolin.
Things started ominously in the 1st after he labored through 30 pitches while giving up a walk and a single, but he managed to keep the Cardinals off the board. He then worked around a walk in the 2nd and a walk plus a stolen base in the 3rd, finally getting clean frames in the 4th and 5th.
Those were huge because his pitch count was piling up, and he saved the Dodgers from having to use one of their non-leverage arms.
5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 94 Pitches
Brusdar Graterol was first out of the pen for the Dodgers against the heart of the order, and he faced the minimum but in a very dramatic way. The first out was Paul Goldschmidt being robbed of a homer by James Outman in center, reminiscent of Cody Bellinger robbing Fernando Tatis Jr. in the 2020 NLDS. That was followed by a single, but Graterol got a grounder for a double play to “cruise” through the inning.
The 7th belonged to Shelby Miller, and he truly did cruise, getting two harmless infield pops and a strikeout to keep the lead intact.
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Those innings were crucial in not only keeping the lead but giving time for the offense to find more runs. After a clean 6th, a rally of a walk and hit by pitch to start the 7th was killed by back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout.
The 8th seemed like it might be much the same, as after a lead-off Miguel Vargas single, two outs were made without him moving. However, David Peralta pinch-hit and walked, and Mookie came up to smack the first pitch he saw for his 10th homer of the year, a three-run shot that made it 4-0.
They weren’t done after that, as Freddie Freeman doubled and Will Smith poked a single through the hole on the right side for a run and a 5-0 lead. The Dodgers didn’t add on any more the rest of the game, but that was fine.
The Dodgers pen closed things with Caleb Ferguson in the 8th, who had the inning extended due to an error that then led to a walk, but he slammed the door on any rally.
Due to the five-run lead, it wasn’t Evan Phillips but was instead Tyler Cyr in the 9th. He got a strikeout, groundout, and flyout in order for a 1-2-3 frame to make the shutout final.
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Smith has great pop times, but man Dodgers pitchers do not hold runners well.
Miguel Rojas on point.
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| NL WEST | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 29-17 |
| Diamondbacks | 25-20 (3.5 GB) |
*Either still playing or will play later.
The start times being moving targets has been annoying, but tomorrow’s game will be at 1:15 PM HT/4:15 PM PT/7:15 PM ET. Noah Syndergaard (5.94 ERA/4.75 xERA/5.15 DRA) will look to not destroy his finger again against Miles Mikolas (4.91/5.78/5.89) on FOX.
