Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
A rough starting time for both teams as they had little opportunity to rest after Game 1 of what was essentially a doubleheader (and that was also delayed again). Fortunately, the Dodgers answered the bell to back basically another pen game in an 9-3 victory over the Guardians.
That’s now seven series victories in a row.
======
Starting for the Dodgers was Caleb Ferguson, who didn’t look sharp once again, getting two outs then hitting a batter and allowing a single before escaping a scoreless 1st.
Surprisingly, it was Ryan Yarbrough that followed and not Ryan Pepiot, and he had his first shaky outing of his Dodgers career. Back-to-back singles from Gabriel Arias and Will Brennan started the 2nd and cornered the runners, and while Brennan appeared to get picked off, Arias ended up stealing home and nobody was out.
Bo Naylor followed with a double to score Brennan and it was 2-0 to the Guardians all of a sudden. Yarbrough limited the damage to just that, but it wasn’t an ideal start.
Meanwhile, Gavin Williams was on the mound for the Guardians and gave up just a single through the first two innings. But after the Guardians took the lead, the Dodgers came back in the 3rd behind an Enrique Hernandez double, a Mookie Betts single to score him, a Freddie Freeman double to put a pair in scoring position, and a David Peralta grounder that tied the game at 2-2.
The 4th led to the Dodgers taking the lead, which they never gave back, and it was behind Michael Busch‘s first career MLB homer. After what seemed like an eternity of toiling in AAA, he’s trying to take his chance now. 3-2.
Meanwhile, Yarbrough ended up with scoreless frames in the 3rd and 4th, but allowed two baserunners in both innings and had to navigate through trouble in every inning he pitched. Still, one run in three frames was the end line.
That damage control paid off, as the 5th ended up being the breakout frame for the offense. A Mookie single, Freddie single, and Peralta walk loaded the bases, and a fly ball from Jason Heyward that was dropped led to a run.
That was followed by James Outman singling to bring two more home and knocked Williams out of the game as well.
A Busch sacrifice fly followed and completed the four-run inning for a 7-2 lead.
They threatened again in the 6th with a single and walk but didn’t get anything, but an Outman walk and an Enrique double scored a run in the 7th to push the lead to 8-2.
On the pitching side, it was really about Pepiot, who started his day with an 11-pitch inning in the 5th with three strikeouts.
Ryan Pepiot strikes out the side on 11 pitches. Here's the nine strikes from the 5th. pic.twitter.com/Utes1japMk
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 24, 2023
He faced a pair of two-out singles in the 6th but came back in the 7th with a 12-pitch inning. Arias did homer to cut the lead to 7-3 to start the 8th, but he bounced back with three outs, including two strikeouts to end his outing.
Good hitter reaction to a pitch. pic.twitter.com/enGJSXvYHn
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 24, 2023
Not saying he looks like a playoff piggyback option for a pen game … but it’s getting there.
——
Amazingly, the Dodgers had a triple, single and double in the 8th but didn’t get a run thanks to a double play on a sac fly attempt.
But Enrique made it easy in the 9th, completing a monster day with a solo shot to push things to 9-3.
Evan Phillips then ended the game in comfy fashion with a 1-2-3 frame in the 9th.
Long day.
======
| NL WEST | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 78-48 |
| Giants | 66-61 (12.5 GB) |
*Either still playing or will play later.
The Dodgers will now travel to Boston for a three-game series against the Red Sox, starting at 1:10 PM HT/4:10 PM PT/7:10 PM ET. Lance Lynn will be facing off against somebody for the Red Sox on Apple TV+.
