Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a brief road trip, the Dodgers found themselves back at home for a series with the Pirates looking to string a few wins together. Thanks to Hyun-Jin Ryu and a resurgent offense, they got off on the right foot in a 6-2 victory.
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Things got off to a rocky start for Ryu in the 1st, though mainly due to unfortunate luck. A liner back up the middle deflected off the glove of Corey Seager for a single, and then a single was immediately blooped into right to put runners on the corners. However, Ryu rebounded with a double play that scored a run, and then a strikeout to escape without allowing a big inning. He also surrendered a solo dong to Josh Bell in the 4th inning for a second run, but that was it for the Pirates.
Ryu walked none and scattered eight hits over seven strong innings, striking out 10 and giving the Dodgers 105 pitches.
That was more than good enough for the offense, who came alive a bit tonight.
Cody Bellinger got things started in the 1st with a two-run homer after Justin Turner got on with a two-out single.
The fireworks continued in the 2nd thanks to … Austin Barnes? Yes, Austin Barnes.
The Dodgers built on their lead in the 4th by working rallies, starting with walks from AJ Pollock and Max Muncy. Enrique Hernandez then followed with a single to drive in a run and make it 4-2, though it was admittedly a bloop effort into right. Barnes (again? again!) then followed by smacking a double into left-center field, adding two more runs to the equation and making it 6-2.
Scott Alexander entered for the 8th and he got two outs, but also gave up a single. Dylan Floro took over and threw just one pitch to induce a grounder and end the inning. Floro now has a 1.16 ERA as a member of the Dodgers and the peripherals are legit in a ~2.5 ERA range.
To close things out, Yimi Garcia got the 9th, and he managed a 1-2-3 frame with a strikeout. Yimi now has six consecutive scoreless innings.
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Folks, Cody Bellinger is good.
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The Dodgers improve to 17-11 with the win and they’ll do it again tomorrow at 3:10 PM HST/6:10 PM PST/9:10 PM EST with Clayton Kershaw taking the hill against Joe Musgrove.
