Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
A two-run homer by Rhys Hoskins put the Philadelphia Phillies out front just five batters into the game, but six homers from the Los Angeles Dodgers led the way to a 13-4 victory.
Corey Seager entered the day with 7 home runs through 46 games and put up nearly half of that on Tuesday against the Phillies (24-24). A two-run shot by Code Bellinger cleared the bases in the 1st before Mookie Botts and Matrix Muncy reached base as well. Seager’s first homer of the day then put Los Angeles (27-20) ahead, as five of the first six Dodgers that came to the plate scored, and Joc Pederson made it six of eight with the third home run of the inning two batters later.
Clayton Kershaw gave up two more runs in the fourth, but the Phillies pitching turned out to be a disaster all day. After Reggie McClain lasted just 1 2/3 IP while surrendering six runs, eight more pitchers entered the game for Philadelphia with none lasting more than an inning. Collectively they allowed seven more runs, starting with Justin Turner (who scored three times in the game) hitting a solo shot in the fourth and Bellinger driving in a few with a double in the fifth.
The second of the day for Seager came in the sixth with one on, before he capped off his incredible day with a solo shot in the eighth. Seager called the triumph “a good team ass-kicking,” because the game’s use of “triumph” is boring.
While Kershaw wasn’t perfect, he did finish with five strikeouts in his five innings to improve to 7-0 this season. Brusdar Graterol worked two innings in relief, striking out three and walking two, before Pedro Baez closed it out.
Ross Stripling struggled in his quick appearance between the two, allowing two hits and a walk without recording an out, but Baez apparently worked out of the jam and stranded all three of his inherited runners. Chicken Strip owes virtual Petey a beer or something, as his ERA was kept at 0.79 as a result.
While four Dodgers finished with multi-hit games, I would be remiss if I did not note Bryce Harper’s struggles against Kershaw. A career .185 against the Dodgers’ lefty in reality, with 14 strikeouts in 27 at-bats, virtual Harper finished the day 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk. I don’t have the play-by-play to say which of those came against Kershaw, but I’m just going to imagine at least the two strikeouts did.
Playing for a chance at a sweep on Wednesday, the Dodgers will send David Price to the mound against Nick Pivetta. I’m sure since I am doing the recap for a Price start, everything will go excellently.
