Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After having back-to-back rough series, the Dodgers were able to bounce back tonight with a 7-3 victory against the rudderless Athletics, which is something the team really needed.
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I had literally never heard of Athletics starter Ken Waldichuk before, so things basically started how I thought they would. The lefty sat down nine of the first 10 Dodgers he saw, carving through the lineup for three shutout frames, only allowing a walk to Chris Taylor.
Freddie Freeman broke up the no-hitter to start the 4th, but two strikeouts followed. However, Max Muncy drew a walk, then Taylor drew another walk to load the bases, and Waldichuk hit James Outman to force a run in and make it 1-0.
That also knocked him out of the game, which saw old friend Tayler Scott enter. Enrique Hernandez worked himself back from down 0-2 in the count to 2-2, and then drilled a fastball for a double that cleared the bases to make it 4-0.
Enrique Hernandez completes a four-run two-out rally with a double with the bases loaded to clear the bases. Hits The Freddie. pic.twitter.com/iziSovJzg3
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
Of course, the story is newly acquired Lance Lynn, who made his first start as a Dodger tonight, and got a bit of a soft landing with the opposition and location. Regardless, pitching well when they’re supposed to has been a problem for this rotation so far, so Lynn’s work tonight was a breath of fresh air.
He started especially well, setting down the first seven batters he faced, though he did run into trouble in the 3rd. A double and a walk with one down gave the A’s a chance, but Lynn shut that down with back-to-back outs, and he also shut down a chance in the 4th as well after a one-out double with back-to-back outs again.
Lynn got back to dominance in the 5th with a six-pitch frame, and he had a comfortable 10-pitch frame in the 6th as well, but Zack Gelof also hit a homer to end the shutout and make it 4-1.
The 7th was started with a solo shot by Brent Rooker, and later in the inning it was Jordan Diaz who popped another homer to make it 4-3 all of a sudden.
Still he did get through seven innings and looked like he might’ve found something new with the pitch mix. Good start to his Dodgers career, honestly: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 93 Pitches.
Lance Lynn strikes out seven over seven innings of three-run ball. pic.twitter.com/GQlBpMqPfo
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
Something to watch.
| Pitch Type | 2023 | Tonight |
| 4-Seam | 41% | 69% |
| Sinker | 13% | 3% |
| Cutter | 27% | 4% |
| Slider | 5% | 6% |
| Curve | 7% | 14% |
| Changeup | 7% | 3% |
While all this was going on, the Dodgers were wasting chances to add on. They stranded a one-out double in the 5th and a pair of one-out walks in the 6th, but they added onto the lead in the 7th. Mookie Betts led the 7th off with his 28th homer of the year to push things to 5-3.
At least Mookie got one back. pic.twitter.com/eqN8fCR74l
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
Freddie followed with a single, Amed Rosario walked, and with two outs a wild pitch moved both runners up, and CT3 was intentionally walked to load the bases. That backfired when Outman also drew a walk to force a run in and make it 6-3 before the rally died on an Enrique lineout to right.
The Dodgers didn’t relent in the 8th either, as a one-out double from Mookie (which had The Freddie and fan participation) was followed by Freddie’s fourth hit of the night to make it 7-3.
Mookie Betts cruises into second and hits The Freddie, fans seen joining in. pic.twitter.com/H6JhS4vwm0
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
Freddie Freeman tallies his fourth hit of the game to make it a four-run lead. pic.twitter.com/J3vmcHvws4
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
Freddie then stole second, and Will Smith walked to put a pair on, but the bats couldn’t add any more runs on.
Max Muncy's 2023 batted ball luck, summarized. pic.twitter.com/DW2FOJDDMp
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
In relief of Lynn was Caleb Ferguson in the 8th, who gave up a single but also struck out three batters to move things right along.
To close the game out, it was Brusdar Graterol, who got two outs on two pitches before issuing back-to-back walks. That wasn’t ideal, but no matter, he bounced back with a groundout to end it.
Phew.
— Bryan Kephart (@thundercrat) August 2, 2023
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Enrique’s return … working out.
Unironically winning this trade by a lot so far. pic.twitter.com/V8aS2rmdf4
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
Miguel Rojas has a … fun warmup routine.
What is Miguel Rojas doing here? I dunno. pic.twitter.com/Z1py9XU2Rq
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
“SELL THE TEAM”
Dodger Stadium joins in on the "Sell The Team" chants in the 5th inning. pic.twitter.com/W2LLL6lsjU
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 2, 2023
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| NL WEST | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 60-45 |
| Giants | 59-49 (2.5 GB) |
| Diamondbacks | 57-51 (4.5 GB) |
*Either still playing or will play later.
Same time and same team tomorrow with the Athletics at 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET. It’ll be Tony Gonsolin (4.25 ERA/4.84 xERA/5.60 DRA) looking to have an August with an ERA below 6 against Hogan Harris (6.07/4.59/5.14).
