Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Yasmani Grandal, everybody. After starting this season on the disabled list, Grandal got hot for a bit and then played hurt for a few weeks because that worked out so well last year. He’s apparently healthy now, and while he did have a game-winning double the other night against the Brewers, his offensive numbers haven’t been improving much.
Well tonight was all about Grandal, as he took a previously dominant Tanner Roark deep to center field for a timely three-run shot in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead and a 3-2 win over the Nationals.
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Through seven innings, the Dodgers offense was thoroughly dominated. Roark looked invincible in scattering just four hits to that point, as he kept the offense looking uncomfortable all night.
I had this written.
https://twitter.com/ChadMoriyama/status/745475340751953921
Fortunately then, the eighth inning against Roark happened, specifically the first three batters. Joc Pederson led-off the frame by walking after an eight-pitch at-bat and Yasiel Puig then made a great adjustment on a 1-2 breaking ball to line a pitch off the shortstop’s glove for a single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate in Yasmani.
Grandal got down in the count 1-2 before fouling off a fourth pitch. Then Roark made a mistake in the middle of the plate, and Grandal didn’t miss it.
All of a sudden it was 3-2 Dodgers, improbable as it may be.
Hey, I think that dinger was important.
On the pitching side of things, results aside, Scott Kazmir got shelled tonight. Yeah, he made through six innings on 97 pitches and only allowed two runs, but he got shelled. Kazmir struck out four and walked just one (HOORAY!), but out of the eight hits he gave up, four were doubles and two were solo dingers. Fortunately, most of the damage was limited, so he managed to keep the Dodgers in the game, but boy did it look ugly.
Adam Liberatore and Louis Coleman followed to get scoreless seventh and eighth innings, even if Coleman did have a bit of struggle to it, and those proved key after Grandal’s go-ahead homer.
Kenley Jansen then came in to save the game the night after he set the Dodgers franchise record for saves and he did the job yet again, getting three grounders for three outs.
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The Dodgers have now won seven of eight games and are 40-33 on the year overall, including 22-15 at home.
Tomorrow night they go for the sweep of the Nationals at 4:00 PM HST/7:00 PM PST/10:00 PM EST, with Julio Urias getting the nod against Joe Ross.
